Stir Crazy Yet?

Kleinur photo

By Dianne O’Konski | Are you going stir crazy yet? I am not a big Facebook fan, but it has gotten more interesting lately. The posts and reposts give us a sliver of people’s state of mind. A relative posted this today from gramma funnies: “The truth is that it’s not so boring at home.…

Read More

Icelanders in the Days of COVID-19

CDC depiction of coronavirus

As I’ve heard many times in the last week, these are challenging times. New information is coming out daily and it is so easy to get swept up in it. We need to be smart and prudent about our activities. As such, the Icelandic National League of North America (INLNA) has made a decision to…

Read More

Welcome Thorri!

Thorri toast photo

by Dianne O’Konski | Thorri (Þorri), the fourth month of winter on the Icelandic calendar begins on Jan. 24th – the first Friday after January 19th! Scholars believe that the name of the month “Thorri” is either taken from the Norwegian king Thorri Snærsson or from Thor, the God of Thunder (my bet is on…

Read More

Snorri Program Deadline is Today!

Snorri participants with flags photo

Today is the last day to apply for the 2020 Snorri cultural exchange program in Iceland. Snorri Plus applications will be accepted until January 31st. Don’t miss out on this opportunity. Please forward to interested friends and family. More information can be obtained at our friends at the Snorri Foundation in Iceland. Visit www.Snorri.is

Read More

October 9th is the day we celebrate Leifur Eiríksson Day!

Leifer Eiríksson statue photo

Almost five centuries before Christopher Columbus discovered America, Leifur Eiríksson and his group of travelers explored North America. Those with Scandinavian/Viking heritage celebrate Leifur Eiríksson Day/Leif Erikson Day each year. In Icelandic, his name is spelled Leifur Eiríksson. He is called, “The son of Iceland, grandson of Norway, and the discoverer of North America.” His…

Read More

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,…

Read More

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…

Read More

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…

Read More