The Ghost and the Farmer’s Daughter

Deacon of Dark River drawing

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | Iceland’s history is filled with folklore stories of trolls and hidden people, but also legends of magic, ghosts, and mysterious happenings. Once such story comes from North Iceland, although its exact origin and author are unknown. In this story, a ghost speaks to a girl named Guðrún, but calls her Garún.…

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The Adventure of Finding Your Heritage

map and magnifier photo

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | Where are you from? It’s a common enough question. It’s asked a thousand times a day, usually as an icebreaker between strangers. In the United States, the typical answer is a state or metropolitan region. “I’m from Minnesota” or “I live in Los Angeles.” In casual conversation, seldom are you asked,…

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Midsummer is This Weekend!

Vikings with shields

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | Midsummer marks the summer solstice, traditionally celebrated in Nordic with large festivals. These countries – Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and the associated territories of Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the Åland Islands – endure winters marked by as much as twenty hours of darkness, it’s easy to see why they…

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June 17th – Iceland’s National Day

Official INLUS logo

By Heidi Herman-Kerr | June 17th is National Day in Iceland. It is celebrated with parades, bands, and music, marking an important day to the Icelandic people world-wide, commemorating the day Iceland in 1944 when the Republic of Iceland was founded, bringing back complete Icelandic independence for the first time since 1262. Today, we continue…

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