Þorrablót (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈθɔrːaˌplouːt]; transliterated as Thorrablot) is an Icelandic midwinter festival, named for the month of Þorri of the historical Icelandic calendar (corresponding to mid January to mid February), and bl…
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Þorrablót (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈθɔrːaˌplouːt]; transliterated as Thorrablot) is an Icelandic midwinter festival, named for the month of Þorri of the historical Icelandic calendar (corresponding to mid January to mid February), and bl…
01 · What it is
Living Tradition
Documented cultural tradition on record; family classification awaits an editor.
02 · Where & name
Iceland
Placed on record in Iceland.
03 · How it is doing
□□□□ (Not yet assessed)
Documented in open cultural records, but no cited field assessment of its current vitality has been added here yet.
04 · Proof & reuse
2 cited sources
Every claim links to a public record below. Free to quote, teach, and share under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Chapter Takeaways
Other sourcesMagocsi (ed.), Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples (Multicultural History Society of Ontario, University of Toronto Press) 1999 p.
Common Questions Answered on Record
What is Þorrablót in plain words?
Þorrablót (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈθɔrːaˌplouːt]; transliterated as Thorrablot) is an Icelandic midwinter festival, named for the month of Þorri of the historical Icelandic calendar (corresponding to mid January to mid February), and bl…
Where is Þorrablót practised or documented?
Sources on this page place Þorrablót in Iceland.
What is the current condition of Þorrablót today?
□□□□ (Not yet assessed): Documented in open cultural records, but no cited field assessment of its current vitality has been added here yet.
How do I cite or share this Þorrablót entry?
Cite as: "Þorrablót." folkroom, https://folkroom.org/art-forms/orrablot, text CC BY-SA, with attribution.
Þorrablót (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈθɔrːaˌplouːt]; transliterated as Thorrablot) is an Icelandic midwinter festival, named for the month of Þorri of the historical Icelandic calendar (corresponding to mid January to mid February), and blót, literally meaning sacrifice.
The historical context is from the Orkneyinga saga, where Þorri ("Frost") is an early Finnish king, the son of Snær ("Snow"). Hversu Noregr byggðist in the Flateyjarbók states that the Kvens offered a yearly sacrifice to Þorri at mid-winter.
The modern festival arose in the second half of the 19th century, with the Romantic nationalism of the time, comparable to Burns night in Scotland. The first known celebration was reportedly organised by the association of Icelandic students in Copenhagen in 1873, and by other societies active in the Icelandic independence movement of the time (Iceland received a constitution in 1874, and was recognized as a kingdom in personal union with Denmark in 1918).
The Þorrablót is an evening with dinner where participants hold speeches and recite poems, originally to honour the Norse god Thor (Þórr), whose name is taken to be associated with Þorri. 1
Other sources
Magocsi (ed.), Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples (Multicultural History Society of Ontario, University of Toronto Press) 1999 p. 695.
Árni Björnsson, Þorrablót á Íslandi (Reykjavík: Bókaklúbbur Arnar og Örlygs) 1986. 1
The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Þorrablót”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. 1
Þorrablót is Icelandic midwinter festival, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. 2
The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. 2