January’s Mid-Winter Feast Thorrablot: Not for Faint of Heart or Stomach

Imagine stepping out into a black January dawn to welcome winter itself. That, in Icelandic folk tradition, is how Thorri, the fourth month of winter in the old Icelandic calendar (beginning in late January), was greeted. In the best-known version of the custom, on the first morning, bondadagur or ‘husband’s day,’ the man of the house rose early and welcomed Thorri, hopping around the house with one trouser leg on. The month’s name is linked to a legendary King Thorri, son of Snaer (‘Snow’), whom medieval Norse texts place in the far north. The midwinter sacrifice called Thorrablot is mentioned in medieval sources, then faded after Iceland became Christian. Icelandic students revived it as a patriotic feast in the 19th century, and it became a nationwide tradition in the 20th. Some people today connect it with Thor, though that link is popular belief, not established history.

What’s on the Thorrablot Menu?

Today’s Þorrablót menu, called þorramatur, is a proud parade of old Icelandic preserved foods: fermented shark (hákarl), soured ram’s testicles, smoked lamb, dried fish and sheep’s-head jelly. These are the foods that got Icelanders through centuries of hard winters. The buffet itself, though, is a modern invention; restaurants popularized it in the 1950s. What the Viking Age feast actually served isn’t recorded.

Today’s menu will likely include more palatable foods like sausage and dark rye bread. Revelers will also consume the local alcohol, Brennvin. This “burning wine,” only produced in Iceland, is 37 percent alcohol and served as an ice-cold shot. It’s also called “black death.”

After eating like a Viking, Icelandic celebrations usually involve singing, dancing, and playing games. More formal affairs may feature stage shows of music and poetry. (Asgard Alaska reminds you to drink responsibly and plan ahead with a designated driver if you plan to attend your own Thorrablot celebration.)

Month of Men

Þorri is traditionally the month of husbands, beginning with bóndadagur, when wives treat their men. Anyone feeling left out needn’t worry: the next month, Góa, opens with konudagur, a day for honoring women.