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May 2020 LII:v
The Icelandic Canadian Club of British Columbia
N E W S L E T T E R
The Icelandic Canadian Club of BC Annual General Meeting,
Wednesday, June 3, 2020, 7 pm, Scandinavian Community Centre
If regulations have been removed regarding group meetings in public places, a meeting will be held
at the Scandinavian Centre in a large room where we can set up chairs 6 feet apart.
Otherwise, we will have our Annual General Meeting, Wednesday, June 3rd, 7pm on
Zoom
If you would like to attend, via Zoom, please contact:
We will announce the choice we have made in the next newsletter.
Iceland Independence Day will be celebrated on Wednesday, June 17, 2019
Scandinavian Centre, 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC
6 p.m. onwards
This depends on whether regulations have been relaxed.
CANCELLED
Scandinavian Midsummer Festival 2020
6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC
2021 Festival to take place
June 19th & 20th
Scandinavian Community Centre Society Annual General Meeting
will be held on ZOOM, Thursday May 14 at 7pm
Please email or phone the centre to be added to the list of those who wish to attend.
We hope that you are all remaining healthy and enjoying the peace and reflection of quiet days.
As you would expect, all events at the Scandinavian Cultural Centre have been cancelled until
further notice except for the following which are tentatively still scheduled.
Our small garden Scan Centre; photo, Anna Bjarnason-
2 May 2020
PASSINGS
BRYNJOLFSON, I.W.Lenora (Lolly) nee Foster April 8, 1931 - March 9, 2020
Born in Maidstone, Saskatchewan and passed away peacefully into the presence of her Lord in Langley, B.C.. Lenora is survived by her husband Einar (Brin) of 65 years, daughter Debora (Allan) Nortman, son Robert (Silvia) Brynjolfson, grandchildren Brandon Nortman (Kristen), Karis, Wally (Dani) and David Brynjolfson, her sister Wynnona Newsham of Los Angeles, California, USA, along with many numerous nieces and nephews.
As one of seven sisters in the family of James Rector and Lillian Foster, she was predeceased by her sisters Doreen Franko, Beryl Hobbs, Maxine Crawford, Yvonne Kennedy, Rosalyn Moir, and her grandson Joel Nortman. Most of the Foster family moved to Victoria in the 1940's, where Lenora attended North Ward and Victoria High School, graduating in 1949 with Honours, then to St. John's School of Nursing, where she graduated in Medical Technology as a Bacteriologist in 1953.
Lenora married Einar, a former classmate from the Victoria College (aka U of Vic), on Dec. 4, 1954. They moved to the Kitsilano area in Vancouver, then to North Vancouver. Eventually they settled in the British Properties where Lenora became hostess to many of Einar's business associates and clients.
During that time, Lenora made numerous Labtec friends and associates at the various McNair Lab branches
t h r o u g h o u t Vancouver and was involved in working with the first generation of HIV-AIDS' detection (Dr. P e t e r s ) a n d imminent superbug predictions in the early 1980's. ( U n f o r t u n a t e l y , Lolly would have had the last words now saying "I told you so!" with the C O V I D - 1 9 pandemic.)
As the years passed, Lenora missed being an "Island Girl", so when Einar retired as the V.P. of International Paints, Lenora retired and in 1989, they moved to a house on the waterfront in Maple Bay. Eventually in 2012, Lenora and Einar (Brin) moved back to the Lower Mainland to be closer to family.
Lenora was an honourable, intelligent and wise woman with a sharp wit, a great sense of humour, great style and fashion sense. We will miss her for her predilection toward lively debates, her loving care, wisdom, strength and outstanding courage. Lenora will be missed by many. May her memory be for a blessing.
The Icelandic Care Home Höfn at Harrison Drive, Vancouver, BC
As of April 26, 2020, has no cases of Covid-19.
The Icelandic Care Home Höfn Society, following Vancouver Coastal Health’s guidelines, is providing a
safe environment for our residents and our staff. The Höfn Board met on an online meeting platform in
April to discuss the operation and the various topics that our meeting agenda covers.
Members of the Society will know that a recent Special General Meeting had to be cancelled. B.C. Housing
is asking the Society to add some new wording in our bylaws. We sought professional legal help and the
Board is comfortable with putting a motion forward to the membership. The motion will be presented at
the Annual General Meeting in September. It is very likely the AGM will have to be a meeting conducted
online and not in person. Höfn Members will receive an AGM mail out in the summer.
This would be a good time to mention that we are accepting names of people interested in becoming a
Board Member. The Board meets on Tuesday mornings once per month for ten months. There is good work
being done and as our board history shows, people remain on the board for a few years and longer. If you
are interested in becoming a Höfn Icelandic Harbour board member please contact me by email.
Norman Eyford: [email protected]
3 May 2020
To Persevere Islendingadagurinn President, Jenna Boholij
In the midst of planning the 131st Icelandic Festival of Manitoba, one of the largest Festivals in the province, that brings tens of thousands of people together from across North America and beyond to Gimli, Manitoba, we are suddenly encouraged to stay as far away from each other as possible (minimum 2 m) to curb the dangerous outbreak of COVID-19.
Among countless other concerns, worries and anxious thoughts, I wonder, what does this mean for Festival?
“This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had to persevere. It’s in our nature,” said Marilyn Valgardson, Islendingadagurinn Vice-President, when I called her to discuss what we should do.
And she’s right, Icelandic people have had their fair share of hardships. From volcanic eruptions, to small pox outbreaks and economic collapses, to name a few. Eventually, we’ve come out on the other side of it. “Þetta reddast,” is Iceland’s unofficial motto after all, “it will all work out alright.”
Marilyn reminded me that when our ancestors first made the long, arduous journey to Canada, that in the very limited space they had, they chose to bring books as one of their most important possessions. In Icelandic society arts and culture hold the same weight and importance as science, history and language. Great pride and care is taken to preserve arts, culture and heritage, and to celebrate it. It was from that value system that the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba was born.
At the time of writing, according to ourworldindata.org, Iceland has tested more people
per capita, than anywhere in the world, and as per the Reykjavik Grapevine, they are now seeing the smallest rises in newly diagnosed infections across Europe.
Like the Festival itself, the ability to endure and persevere is by no means limited to those that are Icelandic. Let the small and mighty Icelandic way inspire you, that as an individual you can make a difference to help to keep our communities safe, so that one day we may gather again and celebrate.
It’s too soon to tell you how Islendingadagurinn will be affected, but what I can tell you, is that at this time we are continuing to plan the Festival, while closely following updates and recommendations from the Province of Manitoba and Provincial Health Authority.
And I can also tell you, that this August long weekend, we will continue to celebrate Icelandic culture and heritage, it just might not look the same way as it has in the past.
During this difficult time, please remember that while there are many things that can be taken away from us, there are many things that can’t; our past, future, heritage, culture, or our hope.
4 May 2020
At the Icelandic Emigration Center in Hofsós, we make it our business to assist people to find genealogical information of their Icelandic ancestors. When we embark on a journey of genealogical inquiry into families, we never know what kind of information we will find. In the course of such an inquiry many people have been surprised, even shocked, to learn that their ancestors who immigrated from Iceland lived together as a couple outside of the institution of marriage, and so often had children who were considered illegitimate in the eyes of the law. This information is generally judged within a North American perspective and considered to have been an uncommon and possibly shameful family secret. Exploring a variety of genealogical records, it becomes apparent that these situations were not uncommon among the immigrants to North America, or indeed among their forebears whom they left behind in Iceland. In order to understand the social implications of this situation, we must consider marriage and illegitimacy within the cultural context of that time in Iceland. A look back at the history of marriage and illegitimacy in Iceland may help to shed some light on the issue. Richard F. Tomasson (1980) explains, “all through the 1,100 years since Iceland was settled – through heathen, Catholic and Lutheran times – marriage has been popularly conceived as coming about through the betrothal ceremony, a civil and not religious conception of marriage. Along with this has gone a remarkably tolerant view towards sexual relations that seems to be related to the traditional equality that has prevailed between the sexes combined with the general tolerance that characterizes Icelanders in moral and religious matters. The whole history of Iceland from the pragmatic conversion to Christianity in AD999 or 1000 to the modern indifferentism supports this contention.” In the saga literature, an explanation of pre-Christian marriage indicates “three distinct stages in the marital process: the proposal followed by matchmaking negotiations, the ceremonial betrothal ceremony ended with the man who would be husband saying ‘and from now on you are my legal wife” followed by the consent of the wife, all heard by witnesses. The
Marriage in Early Iceland From Lögberg-Heimskringla, January 1, 2010, Information from Hofsós
betrothal ceremony was so legally important that children born to those betrothed, before or after betrothal, were legitimate by law. To all effects and purposes the betrothal ceremony was a civil form of marriage. In his 1967 paper entitled Engagement and Marriage in Iceland, theologist and sociologist Bjorn Bjornsson tells the reader that in the years following the introduction of Christianity, various ecclesiastical laws and marital legislation were introduced in an effort to eradicate the civil conception of marriage. In the course of the Reformation of Iceland, the 1587 Articles on Marriage introduced the ceremony of engagement as a replacement of the betrothal ceremony and making it abundantly clear that engagement and marriage were completely separate. However, the legal consciousness of the people, according to which betrothal carried a marriage-creating-significance, was too deeply rooted to be eradicated by a single piece of legislation (Bjornsson, 1967). Despite the legislative attempts to enforce the notion that engaged persons were not to be allowed to lead a married way of life, it was clear that many people who were engaged considered themselves virtually married. In a royal writ on January 4, 1799, it was decreed that marriage alone could bestow upon husband and wife the privilege of making a family and the engagement ceremony was formally abolished. Following this proclamation, a new form of engagement developed, much less formal and less ceremonial than the former, but a distinctive institution all the same (Bjornsson, 1967). Bjornsson argues that legislation has never been successful in disestablishing the old cohabitation patterns, and thus Icelandic families are often formed on the basis of engagement, with marriage sometimes following after the birth of children. The earliest Icelandic statistics on illegitimacy date from 1827. During the years of 1827-1930, 15.8% of all births were illegitimate. During the 1820s, there were almost as many illegitimate births as there were marriages. Indeed, until the end of the nineteenth century, there was a steady increase in
5 May 2020
illegitimacy, with a high of 20.4% of all recorded births being illegitimate during the period 1881-1890 (Tomasson, 1980). There is another aspect of illegitimacy that can be seen in the light of the trends in population and economics in Iceland during the nineteenth century. In his review of the Icelandic national census of 1703, Tomasson (1980) reveals that in the age category 25-29, only 12.5% of males and 20.1% of females were registered as married. As these numbers seem unusually low, he speculates that marriage was not common among those who did not own or manage a farm. Tomasson (1980) further posts that a steady increase in the population from 1840 to 1870 resulted in a decline in the availability of farms, corresponding with a decline in marriage and an increase in illegitimacy rates. He notes, however, that even when they had a farm, some couples still never formally married. This brief historical overview of the institution of marriage and illegitimacy in Iceland provides us with a new perspective on the choices that our ancestors made regarding marriage and having children. It is most noteworthy to mention that illegitimacy was not
always stigmatized, particularly when the child was cared for within a family unit. It may be said that in Iceland, a child was nearly always welcome, no matter what the surrounding into which it was born
Sources: Tomasson, Richard F. (1980). Iceland: The First New Society. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Bjornsson, Bjorn (1967) Engagement and Marriage in Iceland. In, 65˚ The Literary Quarterly on Contemporary Iceland Life and Thought, Vol 1, No.1, Reykjavík.
Note: The Icelandic Emigration Center is located in Hofsós, and includes exhibits, genealogical information and library facilities.
Study shows Iceland got it right with early, widespread virus testing AFP, International News Agency, April 15, 2020
Iceland has provided a textbook example of how to get out ahead of a looming pandemic: per capita, it has tested more people for coronavirus than any other country on earth and it got started a month before the first case was even confirmed in the tiny Nordic island nation. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from Icelandic universities and deCODE Genetics, a subsidiary of the US biotech giant Amgen, released the results of an all-out screening program launched on January 31 -- before the disease caused by the virus had even been baptized COVID-19 and more than a month before the global pandemic was declared. The study involved two testing drives. The first, starting January 31, targeted people with symptoms of coronavirus infection and people who had traveled to high-risk areas -- initially China and the Alps
regions of Austria, Italy and Switzerland -- or people who had come into contact with others who were in fact infected with the virus. It found that as of late March, 13.3% of more than 9,000 people who were screened tested positive. The first case of infection was confirmed on February 28. In a second testing program that began March 13, deCODE Genetics screened the general population of people with no coronavirus symptoms or who had mild symptoms, such as those of the common cold, and were not in quarantine. Here, the proportion of positive cases was much lower: between 0.6% and 0.8%. As of right now Iceland has carried out tests on 36,000 people, which is 10% of its population. That makes it by far the world leader in testing per capita -- 10 times more than South Korea, which has won
(Continued on page 6)
6 May 2020
announced on New Year’s Day, 1980, that he did not intend to seek reelection, the search for a female candidate began. Vigdís was s u b s e q u e n t l y encouraged to run. That she did and ended up winning the election with 33.8% of the vote. She served as president for 16 years, or until she decided in 1996 not to run for reelection. Since she left her position as president, she has focused on fighting for democracy, equality and human rights, and her interest in foreign languages has never diminished. Shortly after the turn of the century, the Vigdís Finnbogadóttir Institute of Foreign Languages was founded, and in 2017, the institute’s building, Veröld – House of Vigdís, formally opened.
The 90 th birthday of Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, former president of Iceland, Morgunblaðið reports, was April 15. Incidentally, this summer marks the 40th anniversary of her being elected president of Iceland – the world’s first democratically elected female head of state – a position she served for 16 years. She has been a symbol of unity, a pioneer and a role model, and a representative for Iceland the world over. Vigdís was born in Reykjavík on April 15, 1930. After graduating from junior college, she went to France to pursue studies in French and French literature at the University of Grenoble and at Sorbonne University. After returning from France, she taught French at Reykjavík Junior College and at Hamrahlíð Junior College. She co-founded a theater group and translated some French plays. In the 70s, she taught French on the Icelandic National Broadcasting TV Station RÚV and was subsequently appointed director of the Reykjavík City Theatre. On October 24, 1975 – a day that became known as the Women’s Day Off- Icelandic women went on strike for a day to bring attention to their essential role in society. When then president Kristján Eldjárn
Former President Vigdís Finnbogadóttir turned 90, April 15, 2020
much praise around the world for acting quickly to test its people as the virus spread. South Korea has conducted 10 tests per 1,000 inhabitants, according to the website Our World in Data.
Many asymptomatic carriers out there - This aggressive testing program in Iceland apparently helped slow the spread of the virus by allowing health authorities to detect people who were infected and contagious but had no symptoms or thought they just had a cold or the flu. When people were told they had tested positive, they had to self-isolate at home until 10 days after their fever had subsided or until they tested negative for the virus. And anybody who came in contact with them had to self-quarantine for two weeks. If the people who ended up being positive had not been tested, they probably would not have self-quarantined and would have gone on to infect others unknowingly.
(Continued from page 5 - Iceland got it Right) Unlike other countries, Iceland refrained from closing its day care facilities and elementary schools. High schools and universities did shut down March 16, followed by swimming pools, sports arenas, movie theaters, bars and restaurants. So far Iceland has detected 1,720 cases of the virus, which is proportionally higher compared to countries that test only people who have been hospitalized. But its coronavirus death toll of just eight people is per capita just a tenth of that of France, for instance. The government of Iceland says it believes the apex of its chapter of the pandemic sweeping the globe is now passed, and plans to reopen high schools, universities, museums and beauty salons on May 4. The study yielded other interesting findings as well. One is that 43% of people who tested positive either had no symptoms, or at least they did not at the time of their testing. This provides further evidence that many carriers of the virus are asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic.
Winnipeg Falcons, 100-year anniversary of Canada’s first gold medal in hockey https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/1707905091739? bclid=IwAR0x4T_YQWenEl3wSIoB8eQs0GbGgP7k2b_RyO8DuNKvHzVuwX0uEU-7Bj0
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Iceland Records No New Cases of Coronavirus for the First Time Iceland has reached a landmark in its fight against Covid-19, with no new confirmed cases on April 24, and 27—the first time this has happened since the start of the global pandemic. “Nobody was diagnosed with Covid-19 in the last 24 hours,” Chief Epidemiologist Thorolfur Gudnason said at a daily briefing in Reykjavik. But “we need to be on our toes in the next months to prevent a new or larger epidemic.” Iceland is one of the countries that has carried out the most intensive testing program, with more than 43,000 residents tested by April 21. That’s the equivalent of 12% of the population. In contrast, New York, which has tested more aggressively than any other U.S. state, had tested in excess of 640,000, or just over 3% of its population. As of April 27, Iceland has 1,792 confirmed cases out of 46,377 tested, and 10 deaths, according to the latest data. The peak in the number of new infections happened on March 24. Despite those relatively low numbers, the economy has taken a beating as a result of the global drop in travel. Tourism is Iceland’s main export, and latest estimates point to a contraction of 55% in the number of visitors last month. With about a quarter of the country’s labor force now on unemployment benefit, the government and the central bank have launched unprecedented measures to cushion the economic blow.
Icelander Elected President of European Court of Human Rights Róbert Ragnar Spanó, judge of the European Court of Human Rights since November, 2013, has been
elected president of the court, mbl.is reports. He will replace Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos from Greece on May 18 and serve as president through November of 2022. “Surely, this is a great honor for me, personally, and for us, Icelanders, as well,” Róbert states. “An Icelander has never served as president of the European Court of Human Rights, nor has anyone from the Nordic countries, since the court began operating in its present form.” “The court is a very large institution, employing nearly 700 people, so there is much work ahead,” Róbert explains. “The president directs all this work, in addition to being the court’s advocate in relation to the member states and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. As a result, the job is quite extensive.” Róbert graduated with a Cand. jur. degree in law from the University of Iceland in 1997, after which he earned a Mag. jur. degree in European and comparative law from the University of Oxford in 2000.
No Whaling for Second Summer in a Row Hvalur, hf. will not do any whaling this summer, RÚV reports. CEO Kristján Loftsson attributes the suspension to difficult conditions, both on the Japanese market, where the company sells the vast majority of its catch, as well as social distancing regulations that make production difficult in Iceland. Kristján enumerated a number of hurdles that will make whaling in Iceland untenable this summer: the Japanese government subsidizes local whalers’ production, which means that Hvalur is not in a competitive
position; there is also now more demand for tests and chemical analysis on whale products from Iceland—tests that aren’t done on whale products caught and sold in and around Japan. On top of this, social distancing regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic mean that it’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to cut up any catch. It’s work that must be done in close proximity.
Health Minister Approves Import of Seeds For Industrial Hemp Fréttablaðið reports that Minister of Health Svandís Svavarsdóttir has changed regulations regarding Iceland’s laws on intoxicating and addictive substances to allow for the Icelandic Medicines Agency (IMA) to import seeds for the purposes of growing industrial hemp. The regulation specifies the condition that the seeds may not be capable of growing plants which contain more than 0.2% THC, the compound in cannabis that induces intoxication. There has been growing interest in cultivating industrial hemp in Iceland, as has been the case across Europe. Industrial hemp, a strain of cannabis sativa with very little THC in it, is grown specifically for the strong and durable fibres they produce, or for their seeds, which are sold for their nutritional value.
Iceland Online–April 2020 Compiled by Iceland Review, Iceland Monitor & Reykjavik Grapevine Editorial Staffs
May 2020
Hemp Field, photo Adrian Cable
8
The 8-page newsletter is published at the beginning of each month, ten months of the year. A newsletter is not printed in July or August. Material is gratefully received by the 20th of each month.
Editor & Publisher:
Margrét Bjarnason Amirault, Tel: 604-688-9082
Distribution: Heather Johnson, Nina Jobin
Membership: Norman Eyford, 778-846-1894
ICCBC Mail: 6540 Thomas Street, Burnaby, BC V5B 4P9
Printer: Prism Printing, 203-6th St., New Westminster
Website of the Icelandic Canadian Club of BC:
www.icelandicclubbc.ca
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: @icelandicclubbc
Icelandic National League Website: www.inlofna.org
Icelandic Radio (6 stations): www.xnet.is
Morgunblaðið: http://mbl.is
Ströndin Internet Radio: www.inlofna.org/SIR
Honorary Consul General of Iceland for British Columbia, Glenn Sigurdson, www.glennsigurdson.com
May 2020
Oakridge Lutheran Church
is engaging in a major redevelopment The new worship space is: Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1499 Laurier Ave.,
Vancouver. Sunday worship time 1 pm.
Email:[email protected] Pastor Dorothy Chu
Library & Genealogy
Books written by Icelanders in English or translation are available in the Scandinavian library upstairs. Books in Icelandic are located in the Iceland Room. Information regarding the Genealogy Centre can be obtained from Gerri McDonald, email: [email protected]
Assisted Living &
Affordable Housing
We have been providing care for Seniors since
1947. Find us at:
or 604-321-3812
Hőfn Icelandic Harbour 2020 Harrison Drive, Vancouver, BC V5P 2P6
Höfn Garden
Reykjavík Photo by Árni Sæberg , Mbl.is
