What is First Day of Summer?
The First Day of Summer, Sumardagurinn fyrsti in Icelandic, is a public holiday and flag day in Iceland that marks the start of the summer half of the old Icelandic year. Although snow can still lie on the ground in April, the old Icelandic calendar divided the year into six winter months and six summer months, and the first day of summer is the start of the first summer month, Harpa. Because it always falls on a Thursday, many people take the Friday off for a long weekend.
The day is celebrated with parades, outdoor events and family gatherings in many towns. It is traditional to give children a summer gift, sumargjöf, a custom recorded since the sixteenth century. There is also weather lore: if summer and winter freeze together on the night before, the saying goes, the summer will be a good one.
Why it is observed
The division of the year into two seasons comes from the old Icelandic calendar, which predates the introduction of the Christian-Roman calendar in the Middle Ages. The first day of summer remained a marker of the year even as that calendar was replaced, and it is now fixed by rule as the first Thursday after 18 April. It is set as a public holiday by Icelandic law, even though it falls in a season that often still feels like winter.
How the date is set
The First Day of Summer in Iceland is the first Thursday after 18 April, so it falls between 19 and 25 April (22 April in 2027). It does not coincide with the astronomical start of summer.
How it is observed
The First Day of Summer is a public holiday in Iceland, always on a Thursday. Banks, public offices, schools and most shops are closed, although restaurants, cafés and attractions are often open, with family events in Reykjavik and other towns. Because the date moves between 19 and 25 April, check it each year; in 2027 it is on 22 April. Pay and time off depend on Icelandic law, collective agreements and the contract.
Sources
Iceland