Norwegians have been giving Icelanders a Christmas tree every year since 1951, or for seventy years. As it is always called, the Oslo tree has an important place in the Christmas preparations of the city’s residents. The tree was lit yesterday, as always, on the first Sunday in Advent. However, there haven’t been bit celebrations for the last two years due to Covid-19 restrictions. The tree has not come from Norway for the past few years, as it was in the first 65 years. Now it is cut down in the forest in Heiðmörk, just outside the capital. During the Household Revolution in 2009, the tree was set on fire, but it had no political repercussions. There is an inseparable friendship between the two sister nations, after all.
Reykjavík 29/11/2021 10:13 – A7R III : FE 1.4/24mm GM
Photograph and text: Páll Stefánsson
