Sun Day (Sólardagurinn)
Every year on 25 January, the people of Ísafjörður celebrate Sun Day—a joyful welcome to the sun’s return. The occasion is marked with a traditional sólarkaffi (Sun Day coffee gathering), where people drink coffee and enjoy “sun pancakes” served with sugar, or with jam and whipped cream. For more than a hundred years, Ísafjörður residents have observed this day, which is tied to the moment when the sun first brushes Sólgata (“Sun Street”) again, after a long winter hidden behind the mountains.
People in Ísafjörður don’t all agree on exactly when to hold their sólarkaffi. Some always stick to 25 January, others wait until the sun is actually shining on Sólgata, and still others hold it when the sun finally reaches their own window. We won’t judge what’s “right”—but since Sun Day fell on a Sunday this year, our service manager, Gunna Sigga, decided to host a sólarkaffi at UW today. She was up at the crack of dawn mixing batter, and the smell of fresh pancakes greeted the staff as they arrived at work before eight. Two pans went at full speed, reinforcements were called in to roll the pancakes and fill them with whipped cream, and then the students were invited in for coffee.
It’s an annual tradition for Gunna Sigga to host Sun Day coffee for the students and staff at UW. Along with baking pancakes, she also gives students the full story of Sun Day in Ísafjörður—and the history of the Icelandic pancake… which isn’t necessarily uniquely Icelandic, is it? Either way, everyone was thoroughly happy with the coffee spread.
Now and then throughout the day, you could also hear people humming Gylfi Ólafsson’s “Sun Pancake Song,” written last year and already firmly established as the unofficial hymn of Sun Day—pancakes included, of course.
Happy Sun Day!
