Iceland: Dispatch From “Summer”
“Sumarið Er Tíminn”
This week, Icelanders celebrated a national holiday, schools and banks closed, for what many feel in their hearts is the first day of summer, according to the old Icelandic almanac.
Icelanders say “gleðilegt sumar” (Happy Summer) to each other, no matter the weather, on this blessed day. This year, rain fell all over summer. My friends in Iceland tell me this is typical, and seen as good luck on the first day of old Almanac summer.
“Gleðilegt sumar” is a state of mind. Icelandic kids are excited, and adults, more so, for this national holiday symbolizes a turning of the corner, and truly relief is in sight. Collectively, we made it through the darkness of night, The midnight sun is coming. And to those one knows well, one adds “og takk fyrir veturinn” — thank you for the winter. I loved that a blizzard brought gale storm winds, fresh ice and snow just days before the first day of summer in Reykjavík. Gleðilegt sumar! Og takk fyrir veturinn…
On the first day of summer in Iceland, school is closed, and loving grandparents and parents gift their small humans new clothes for summer pleasure. “Summer gifts” like a bright colored ball, and a fresh jumprope, and new outdoor street chalk are welcome treats to make merry with the outside.
A new friend in Iceland shared her favorite song by an Icelandic rock and punk icon, Bubbi Morthens. Bubbi sings of going to his favorite hill in the country’s capital, savoring a beer and a summer glow in “Sumarið er Tíminn”
“Sumarið er tíminn
Þegar hjartað verður grænt
Og augun þín verða
Himinblá, ójá…”
“Summer is the time
When the heart turns green
And your eyes turn
Sky blue, oh….”
My favorite lyrics evoke the idea of summer I have in my mind’s eye from a childhood enjoyed on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, where folks smoked on the beach, lathered up bronzer, and heavily perfumed Coppertone, not so much for sunscreen, as much as to soak up the Vitamin D suntan spirit.
Summer is the time
When women explode
And they smell
Of mystery and sun, wow
As a teenager in California, at Jack’s on Main Street, I learned to sell Mr. Zog’s surf wax, Ripcurl wetsuits, and fantastic bikinis to celebrate the annual surfing contest in August. I took phone orders, and shipped thick wetsuits to colder destinations across the planet. This year, in Iceland, I will try my first polar swim, initiated by my new friends, and led by my feeling that we can always be grateful for winter. I am ready to plunge and say thank you for the winter.
The sensation of intense cold up and down my spine is a reminder that I am alive. Skinny dipping in the midnight sun is a sweet reward for turning with the seasons. Thank you, winter.
