Iceland: Cultural Profile
History
The Republic of Iceland declared itself independent of Denmark in 1944. Though young in official independence, Iceland’s history dates back to the 9th and 10th centuries when Scandinavia and Celts from the British isles settled there. This young country became prosperous until its banking system collapse in 2008 which “exposed that prosperity as having been built on a dangerously vulnerable economic model.” The majority of Iceland’s economy is built on it’s fishing industry. Iceland has had a somewhat questionable history with the practice of whaling according to environmentalists. It was historically a whaling nation however they abandoned this lifestyle in 1989. However in order to “inverstigate the impact on whales on fish stocks” they resumed scientific whaling and in 2006 the country announced it had officially resumed commercial hunting. Iceland has no armed forces but is a member of Nato. United States troops were stationed in Iceland from World War II until 2006. In 1985 Iceland announced itself as a nuclear-free zone. Valueing its independence, Iceland resisted joining the European Union for a long time. However in 2009 the country officially applied for membership. In 2010, the EU became skeptical towards Iceland joining due to their 2008 banking collapse, tension over Iceland’s whale industry and the EU’s policy on fishing procedures. In 2013, a conservative and Eurosetic government withdrew Iceland’s EU membership.
Family Structure & Roles
Iceland has similar traditional family structures as the United States. It recognizes the nuclear family as one being made up of anything from children and birth parents, single parents, foster families , adoptive families and allows gays and lesbians to adopt children and maintain the same rights as any other family in the country. Violence whether physical or emotional within the family is illegal. If a husband or wife wants a divorce they each have equal rights to seek out doing so. Ordinarily a permit is issued for separation and then a divorce is franted. If the couple has children under the age of 18 they must seek a certificate of reconciliation from a priest or representative of a religious group. However if a couple does not practice religion they can seek a certificate of reconciliation through a judge or district commissioner. When applying for divorce the couple’s certificate of reconciliation may not be six months old and must be disclosed that a priest or representative has tried unsuccessfully to reconcile the family. Iceland has the highest rate of divorce in all of Europe.
Parents who have been employed for six months or longer are entitled to paid leave when a child is born, at adoption or permanent foster of a child younger than 8 years old.Parents either receive vacation payment or birth grants from the Maternity and Paternity Leave Fund but that depends on their status on the labour market. It is recommended that people continue to pay dues to their union during maternity/paternity leave. Parents are required to financially take of their children until the age of 18 unless the child is in school and then age would 20. The government gives child benefits to families who need them up until a child is 18.
Icelanders are reported to work long hours. Men on average work 47 hours a week and women work 37 hours a week. They can struggle to find a balance between work and leisure time, so they often combine business with pleasure. Personal relationships are often formed with business partners.
Women play an important role in families, in multicultural families children often pick up on the mother’s heritage
Parents who have been employed for six months or longer are entitled to paid leave when a child is born, at adoption or permanent foster of a child younger than 8 years old.Parents either receive vacation payment or birth grants from the Maternity and Paternity Leave Fund but that depends on their status on the labour market. It is recommended that people continue to pay dues to their union during maternity/paternity leave. Parents are required to financially take of their children until the age of 18 unless the child is in school and then age would 20. The government gives child benefits to families who need them up until a child is 18.
Icelanders are reported to work long hours. Men on average work 47 hours a week and women work 37 hours a week. They can struggle to find a balance between work and leisure time, so they often combine business with pleasure. Personal relationships are often formed with business partners.
Women play an important role in families, in multicultural families children often pick up on the mother’s heritage
Religion
It is estimated that 80% of the population are members of the established church which is evangelical-Lutheran. When you apply to become a resident of Iceland, you can also apply to a registered religious sect. Religious holidays that are celebrated in the country include Christmas, St. Stephen's Day(Dec. 26th), Easter , Good Friday, Ascension Day and Whitsun, which is a festival of Christian Pentecost.
Communication
Icelandic is the main language of Iceland. It is considered one of the foundations of Icelandic culture because of Iceland’s rich literary heritage.It has Indo-European roots and is influenced by the Noth Germanic languages along with Norwegian and Foroese. There also some Celtic influences in ancient Icelandic culture. It is an insular language and because of that it has changed very little since the country was settled in the ninth and tenth centuries. It did not make any remarkable differences from Norwegian until the 14th century when Norwegian became majorly influenced by its neighboring languages, Swedish and Danish. This persistence to maintain language has made text from the 12th century still understandable to any Icelandic speaker, both adults and children. As mentioned earlier, whaling has a major influence on culture. Though everyone in Iceland is considered equal and people are very educated; many Icelanders are quite reserved in their form of communication with others.
Food
Food staples in Icelandic culture include lamb, skyr, potatoes, fish and other sea food. Because of the surrounding Arctic waters, Iceland’s food are majorly influenced by fish and sea food.Some of the fish Icelanders eat include Salmon, Haddock, Monkfish, Herring, Skate, Lobster and Salmon. One can find Minke whale on almost any menu. It is eaten in steak, on kebabs and seared like ahi tuna. Skyre is a dish similar to yogurt but is actually a soft cheese that has a texture in between Greek Yogurt, creme fraiche and soft-serve. Icelanders will eat it for any meal. Another famous dish is the Pylsur, which is Iceland’s version of the hot dog. It is lamb in addition with pork and beef. If ordered with “ "eina með öllu" (one with everything) it will come with sweet brown mustard, ketchup, raw onions, crunchy deep friend onions and a mildly tangy remoulade. Additionally, Lamb is highly praised by Icelanders as the best in the world due to their ability to allow sheep to roam across the highlands and valleys. Along with that many other meats are available in Iceland including horse, reindeer steak, sheep’s had and fermeanted shark and puffin. Iceland also is known for it’s crepe like pancakes called ponnukokur that are rolled up with jam, powdered sugar or cinnamon , it’s black licorice, which is popular in all of the Scandanavia, salt licorice which can be found in both licorice ropes and chocolate bars. Icelanders also enjoy potatoes as a staple vegetable.
Education
Iceland has a high level of education. The literacy rate is 100% and has been since the eighteenth century. In 1907, school attendance was made maditort for all children ages 10-14. Present day Iceland’s education system has for structures of which only one is compulsory. “A fundamental principle of the Icelandic educational system is that everyone should have equal opportunities to acquire an education, irrespective of sex, economic status, residential location, religion, possible handicap, and cultural or social background.” Pre-schools or nurseries, the first level of education system, can be attended from the age of 12 months to six years. Many children attend pre school and they are heavily subsideid by local councils. Icelandic law dictates that education is mandatory for children between the ages of six to 16 years of age. It is a single structure compulsory ducat system where primary and lower secondary education ad part od the same school level. Upper secondary education is not compulsory but anyone who finished compulsory has the right the enter. There is no tuition for compulsory education ou upper secondary education unless students attend private school. Main subjects that are taught are Icelandic, Icelandic as a secondary language or Icelandic sign language; foreign languages: Englis, Danish or another Nordic language; arts and crafts; natural sciences; physical education; social sciences, religious studies, life skills, equal rights affairs, ethics; mathematics; information and communication technology a long with school electives. University of Iceland, founded in 1911, is obliged to admit any student who has finished upper secondary education and is one of seven universities on the island. Icelandic students also have opportunities to study abroad. Many students from around the world come to Iceland to receive university education. Majors that are often pursued include geology, glaciology and Icelandic language and literature.
Health & Hygiene
While modern day Iceland follows modern medicine and it’s policies, there is a rich history of folk culture around health. Lausnarsteinn, ‘relief stone’ was used by midwives in Iceland for centuries to receive the pain of women in labor. According to tradition, this stone was thought to help with delivrery and guaranteed good health for the mother and child. It was first referenced in writing in 1525 has been continually been used until the 20th century. The Catholic Church considred it to be a natural medicine. Midwives had many different practices on how they implemented the stone, which may have in actuality been a seed or a bean, during childbirth. Some would place it near the mother’s heart, in her bed or even on her tongue. Depending on who you asked the lausnarsteinn couldd lose its powers if came into contact with bare skin and it should be kept in flour wrapped in white linen or an minion, or in the hair of a virgin. In some folk tales the stone was thought to be both male and female and could be found in pairs on the beach. The husband and wife stones could even birth offspring. Additionally in a folk story written by Jon Arnason it was not good enough to find this magic stone on a beach. On the holy night of Vitismessa, people would climb up to an eagle’s nest and tie the beaks of the chicks shut. When their mother arrived to see them in that condition she would find a lausnarsteinn to untie their beaks. At that exact moment the stone had to be grabbed, if it is not then it said to loose all value and magic.
Holidays & Festivals
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References
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(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iceland.is/images/lausnarsteinn_entada_gigas_seed.jpg
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References
Holidays and days off | Fjölmenningarsetur. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://www.mcc.is/english/iceland/holidays-and-days-off/
(n.d.). Reykjavík Youth Center - Hitt Húsið. Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://hitthusid.is/en/
Work and Live. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://www.iceland.is/the-big-picture/people-society/work-and-live
News, B. (n.d.). Iceland profile - Overview. Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17385009
Http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/flags/countrys/zzzflags/islarge.gif. (n.d.).
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://hornstrandir.buskerbrian.com/Image21.jpg
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2016/02/05/rams_03_custom-4df1e5ec00029fb5a889a1098cff05a39d519508-s900-c85.jpg
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://oopoomoo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/NMP13341.jpg
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://traverseearth.smugmug.com/Europe/Iceland/i-TDv4qnZ/0/XL/turf-church-iceland-XL.jpg
(n.d.).Retrieved from http://hornstrandir.buskerbrian.com/Image21.jpg
Language.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://www.iceland.is/the-big-picture/people-society/language
Hofsstadaskoli.is.
(n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://www.bing.com/cr?IG=0F16BE198F0F4E1E941B4D0A27A7283F&CID=2AD20B62E5B46B2B132B02BBE4856AF4&rd=1&h=4zUCdjliLjMld7NKCDOsiLeObPg0x9bx3W-np40tcJk&v=1&r=http://hofsstadaskoli.is/lisalib/getfile.aspx?itemid=35964&p=DevEx,5042.1
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iceland.is/images/headers/790x250/universityoficeland-front.jpg
(n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://www.youtube.com/tv
Zimmer, E. (2012). An Intro to Icelandic Food. Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://www.seriouseats.com/2012/04/guide-to-food-iceland-fish-whale-skyr-hot-dogs.html
The Icelandic Education System. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://icelandreview.com/stuff/ask-ir/2015/04/09/icelandic-education-system?language=en
Education. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://www.iceland.is/the-big-picture/people-society/education
Gunnarsdóttir, N. (2013). The Top 10 Festivals in Iceland | Guide to Iceland. Retrieved November 26, 2016, from https://guidetoiceland.is/best-of-iceland/the-top-10-festivals-in-iceland
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.iceland.is/images/lausnarsteinn_entada_gigas_seed.jpg
Reykjavik: Culture and Festivities in Iceland's Capital. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2016, from http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/travel/getaways/2009/jan/Reykjavik.html