Want a unique New Year’s Eve? Join Reykjavík’s friendly locals for bonfires and a special TV show
Yearly, Icelanders buy greater than 500 tonnes of fireworks that pay for Search and Rescue.
How do you ring within the new 12 months? With a toast of champagne at midnight? By singing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ when you’re within the UK? In Reykjavík, locals will greet 2025 by gathering round a bonfire – after which gathering across the TV to observe a comedy present rounding up the 12 months.
Iceland’s capital is not any stranger to distinctive winter traditions. However a number of the most distinct are reserved for the final day of the 12 months, when Icelanders collect with household and pals for bonfires and fireworks shows that final lengthy into the brand new 12 months.
In case you are trying to have a good time New 12 months’s Eve in another way, right here is why it’s best to think about a visit to Iceland’s largest metropolis.
Reykjavík: Be a part of a neighborhood bonfire for songs and dances
Contemplating it’s generally known as the ‘land of fireplace and ice,’ it’s becoming that these parts issue into Iceland’s New 12 months’s Eve rituals.
After household dinners, Reykjavík locals go away the freezing streets to unite round roaring neighborhood bonfires generally known as ‘brenna’.
Neighbours, households and pals each new and outdated sing songs, dance, replicate on the previous 12 months and make needs for the brand new one.
There are dozens of ‘brenna’ within the capital alone, and they’re welcoming to guests, providing you with loads of alternatives to make new pals.
Watch comedians skewer the nationwide information reside on TV
Icelanders have a famously wry sense of humour, and so they aren’t afraid to share it. Particularly on New 12 months’s Eve.
Beginning at 10.30pm, Reykjavík goes quiet as residents retreat to their houses to observe Áramótaskaup – the annual ‘New 12 months’s Eve Lampoon’.
Aired by the state broadcaster RÚV, the laugh-out-loud comedy present satirises memorable occasions from the previous 12 months.
“It’s greater than a comedy present – it’s a cherished Icelandic custom that displays the highs, lows and quirks of the previous 12 months, making a shared second of laughter and reflection because the nation steps into the brand new 12 months,” explains Kristján Bjarki Jónasson, from Go to Reykjavík.
It’s considered one of Iceland’s highest-rated annual broadcasts, too, with as a lot as 90 per cent of the inhabitants tuning in till the present ends shortly earlier than midnight.
Purchase fireworks that fund year-round Search and Rescue
Fireworks usually are not unique to Iceland and even Reykjavík. However Icelanders have discovered a solution to make New 12 months’s Eve fireworks completely their very own all the identical.
“What’s so enjoyable about New 12 months’s Eve is all of the households setting off fireworks,” says Jónasson. “There aren’t any official firework shows within the metropolis. This legendary evening may be very a lot created by the individuals of Reykjavík, who collectively do a tremendous job of creating it unforgettable.”
From December 28 till January 6, you should buy fireworks from ICE-SAR, the Icelandic Affiliation for Search and Rescue, a nonprofit, volunteer organisation that specialises in search and rescue providers on land and at sea.
The sale is ICE-SAR’s largest fundraiser every year. In 2017, the organisation earned greater than €6 million, or about 60 per cent of its annual price range, from the greater than 500 tonnes of fireworks Icelanders bought earlier than New 12 months’s Eve.
Upon getting your fireworks in hand, be a part of the crowds within the streets and parks setting them off till the early hours, lighting up the evening sky with vibrant blooms.
Then, keep up late to have a good time. Lots of the bars and pubs keep open till 5am, “guaranteeing the brand new 12 months begins with vitality and pleasure,” says Jónasson.
Reykjavík: The right way to see the northern lights
After watching bonfires and fireworks gentle up the evening sky, stick round to see the northern lights placed on their very own vibrant show.
Iceland is likely one of the finest locations in Europe to see the northern lights. Between September and April, the northern lights are steadily seen on clear darkish nights, particularly exterior of Reykjavík the place there may be much less gentle air pollution.
It may be the right solution to cap a brand new 12 months vacation not like another.
