Easter is a national holiday here. The Easter holidays start on Thursday and go through Easter Monday; the shops are closed, even the grocery stores (which open only on Saturday of Easter weekend). It is a very family oriented holiday, and people spend the time with their families, and relaxing, and enjoying some wonderful music in the churches and concert halls.
And then, there are the eggs. The word for egg is the same in Icelandic as in English (though of course the plural and possessive forms are different!). The grocery stores are filled with chocolate eggs of all sizes, just as they are in the U.S. But the eggs are different. In the U.S. the chocolate eggs are sometimes hollow, but sometimes they have a filling of some kind. Here, the eggs have málshætti: sayings, or proverbs. Some of them are from Hávamál (usually translated in English as "sayings of the high one" it is a poem from the Poetic Edda)--and when they are, the source is identified.
We started Icelandic class in April, and my teacher gave us an assignment for Páskafrí (Easter break): get an Easter egg, retrieve and read the saying inside, and translate it. So on the Tuesday after Easter we all brought our sayings in to class. Here are just a few of my favorites:
"Mörg eru dags raunin."
This saying is from Hávamál and was from my egg. Raunin can mean experience, but it can also mean trouble or adversity. In this case, it probably means adversity. Literally, it says "many are days trouble" or perhaps the meaning is closer to: life is hard.
"Bylur hæst í tómri tunnu."
This one was translated as "the loudest noise comes from an empty vessel".
"Settu ekki kommu, þar sem samviskan segir þér að vera punkter."
Don't put a comma where your conscience says there should be a period.
And my personal favorite, also from Hávamál:
"Þjoð veit ef þrír vita."
"A nation knows when three know." Or, news travels fast, as many people have told me!
Our son enjoyed the children's service, the Easter egg hunt, the very large bunny who handed out the eggs, and actually eating the egg. He wasn't very interested in the sayings! But we all enjoyed the holiday.
