A documentary film crew from the BBC attended two weddings, two naming ceremonies and one coming-of-age ceremony undertaken by Ásatrúarfélagid, the pagan society in Iceland, which honors the Norse gods, at Thingvellir national park on Thursday.
From an Ásatrúarfélagid ceremony in Öskjuhlíd, Reykjavík in April 2009. Photo by Jennifer Zoltek.
Egill Baldursson, Ásatrúarfélagid’s lawspeaker, told Fréttabladid, that the association holds a ceremony at Iceland’s ancient Althingi parliament in Thingvellir every year close to the summer solstice, on Thor’s Day (Thursday) in the tenth week of summer.
“It was successful as always,” Baldursson said. “Here, people get together and enjoy each other’s company.” This time, for extra fun, members of the Viking association Einherji marched around Thingvellir in full battle uniform.
Click here to watch a video of Ásatrúarfélagid’s First Day of Winter ceremony in 2006.
