Discover Þorrablót, Iceland’s midwinter feast

Þorrablót is a special mid-winter celebration in Iceland that brings people together in the dark winter months in a lively event where families and friends gather to enjoy traditional foods.
After dinner, locals gather to dance, sing, and play games, and a major part of the revelry is the stage performances, concerts, speeches, and poetry readings. If you’re feeling inspired, you can even plan a comedy show as an opportunity to poke fun at recent events.
A day filled with storytelling and a strong sense of community, is also a chance for everyone to connect, share old traditions, and keep the Icelandic spirit alive, honoring history and culture as a way to reconnect with their roots through food, stories, and customs that have been passed down through generations.
The day also offers a break from the long winter, giving people something to look forward to during the coldest part of the year.

Dating back to the settlement times, the feast traditionally takes place during the month of Þorri, one of the winter months in the old Icelandic calendar, that runs from Bóndadagur, “Husband’s day,” and ending on Konudagur, or “women’s day.”
Its name is a combination of two words: “þorri” (name of the winter month) and “blót” (a sacramental feast held in honor of a god in Norse mythology).
Apparently It began in the early 19th century as a way to revive and honor ancient Icelandic traditions, and the festival itself has roots in the midwinter feasts held during the Viking Age.
Icelanders celebrated these feasts to honor Thorri, a mythical figure connected to winter.
The modern version of Þorrablót was first organized by Icelandic students and scholars in 1873, who sought to reconnect with their cultural roots by reviving old customs, focusing on traditional foods, music, and storytelling, drawing inspiration from the sagas and folklore of their ancestors.
The celebration grew in popularity and became a significant part of Icelandic cultural life: over the years, Þorrablót evolved, with more communities and families joining in the festivities.
The festival also served as a reminder of Iceland’s resilience and the importance of preserving its unique heritage, and today is celebrated with the same spirit of community and tradition, helping Icelanders stay connected to their past while creating new memories each year.
The event now includes modern elements, but it still remains true to its origins, emphasizing the importance of cultural preservation.

The “delicacies” served during Þorrablót represent traditional preparation and preservation techniques that Viking settlers used and include something like fermented shark, smoked lamb, pickled herring and rye bread and butter, and embrace their cultural heritage. Other delicacies include hangikjöt, a meat that is hung and smoked (Icelanders have smoked food for centuries to preserve it), typically lamb, but occasionally horse, blómör, an Icelandic food made from sheep innards and produced in Iceland for centuries likened to blood sausage known in other countries, hrútspungar, a classic Icelandic delicacy made by washing ram’s testicles, boiling them, and curing them with lactic acid, and lundabaggar, a classic Þorrablót dish served fresh, or sour made with intestines, cut lengthwise, fillets of neck meat packed into the intestines with a bit of salt and then wrap it all in the sheep’s diaphragm.
These dishes are often accompanied by a dense rye bread, known in Iceland as rúgbrauð.
To wash all these foods down, it is popular to drink Brennvín, Iceland’s signature spirit distilled from grain and caraway.
It is also known as the “Black Death,” although it literally translates as “burning wine”, with an alcohol percentage of 37% and typically served ice-cold as a shot.
Interestingly, it is only produced in Iceland!

Images from web – Google Research