Þorrablót

Þorramatur at Þorrablót

The Þorrablót is an ancient Nordic sacrificial festival that was celebrated in the month of Þorri (now around mid-January to mid-February). Literally translated, Þorrablot means something like “blood (sacrifice) in the month of Þorri”. Þorri is the last winter month in the Old Icelandic calendar, the "drought month" - the month in which all supplies were finally used up and there was nothing new and fresh to eat.

The pre-Christian tradition of Þorrablot was revived in Iceland in the 19th century and is now part of Icelandic folk culture. The festival is celebrated very festively with many customs, including by Icelandic associations abroad. For example, the Þorrablóts of the Icelandic community in Hamburg are said to be quite legendary...

The traditional Icelandic dishes at Þorrablót are served on special wooden plates or platters with a hollow in the middle, on which the “Þorramatur” is served.

At a Þorrablót meal, various hearty, traditional Icelandic dishes are typically served, such as hangikjöt, lamb smoked in sheep dung smoke, pickled ram testicles (súrsaðir hrútspungar), singed sheep's heads ( svið ), ...

...but also blood sausage and liver sausage (blóðmör and lifrarpylsa), seal fins, harðfiskur (dry fish) and Hákarl , the fermented ice shark, as well as various traditional Icelandic breads. And of course plenty of Brennivín , the “original Icelandic schnapps”.

[Translated from here.]