Icelanders celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, as my family does. At this time of year, the darkness of the far north is at its peak. In some fjords in the west of the country, the sun barely manages to rise above the mountains before darkness descends again.
Many years ago I recorded Bernaður Guðmundsson, the pastor of the church at Skáholt. He remembers a childhood memory told to him by his grandfather, about the preciousness of light on Christmas Eve.
This post from Anna is part of our online “Advent calendar”, taking us through to Christmas. You can see all the posts here.