What do the colors of the Iceland flag mean?
To them, the white stands for the glaciers and snow, the blue for the mountains and the red for the island’s volcanoes. Originally though, the red was added to symbolize Christianity. This has not stuck in the mind of Icelanders who are more likely to link it with volcanoes and magma.
What are the symbols of Iceland?
Iceland’s coat of arms is a silver cross in a sky-blue field, with a bright red cross inside the silver cross. The arms of the cross shall extend to the rim of the shield on all four sides. The width of the cross shall be 2/9 of the width of the shield, but the red cross half as wide, at 1/9 of the width of the shield.
What are the national Colours of Iceland?
In an article in his journal Dagskrá on March 13, 1897, poet Einar Benediktsson wrote that Iceland’s national colours are blue and white and the cross is the most common and convenient flag emblem.
What is Christmas called in Iceland?
Jól
Before Icelanders even started to call Christmas Christmas (Jól in Icelandic) and adopted Christianity, only one important day was celebrated – the winter solstice, after which daylight would become longer.
What is the national flower of Iceland?
Mountain Avens
Holtasoley – Mountain Avens The dainty, but resilient Holtasoley is Iceland’s national flower. Found in all areas of the country, it grows mainly on gravelly mountain slopes and moorland.
What is the coat of arms meaning?
A coat of arms is a symbol that represents a specific family or person. Originally appearing on shields or flags, coats of arms were once used as a way of distinguishing one knight from another on a battlefield.
Are Vikings from Iceland?
They were Vikings from Denmark and Norway. Even today, sixty percent of the total population of 330,000 Icelanders are of Norse descent. Thirty-four percent are of Celtic descent.
Why does Iceland have no trees?
“The main reason is that the early settlers cut down and burned trees for cattle and charcoal production, which was a huge industry in Iceland in former times. Forests used to cover around 35% of Iceland’s land area, but due to deforestation, we ended up with less than one percent.