Iceland

Iceland

Iceland is the home of my paternal ancestors. My great-great-grandfather, Elías Kjærnested,
left Snæfellsnes in 1881, emigrating first to the Muskoka district of Ontario and then to Husavik
in Manitoba. The most recent immigrant among my immediate ancestors was my grandfather,
Ottó Jónasson (originally Þorkelsson), who came to Canada in 1913 with his mother,
step-father and two brothers. I have had the good fortune to visit the country twice and plan
to return in the summer of 2006 for a family reunion. My website Icelandica offers a personal
treasury of things Icelandic, including links and articles on history, culture, religion and people,
along with a small collection of photographs from my visits to the country.

June 17th - Icelandic National Day

Iceland declared itself a republic on June 17, 1944, which was the birthday of its great
nineteenth-century patriot, Jón Sigurðsson (1811-1879). For 23 years, Canadians of Icelandic
descent have gathered at the Jón Sigurðsson statue on the grounds of the Manitoba
Legislative Building for a wreath-laying ceremony, sponsored by the Icelandic Canadian Frón
and the Jón Sigurðsson Chapter IODE (Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire). I have twice
been invited to offer the closing prayer at this ceremony. While some of the content overlaps,
as is often the case with prayers, the text of these two prayers (in PDF) is available by
clicking on the link for the year in which it was given: 2004, 2005 or 2007.

Dinner for His Excellency Halldór Ásgrímsson, Prime Minister of Iceland

On July 29, 2005, the Right Honourable Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada, hosted a state
dinner for His Excellency Halldór Ásgrímsson, Prime Minister of Iceland, who was on an official
tour of Manitoba and North Dakota. I was privileged to be invited to offer the grace at this
dinner - in three languages!