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Þjóðhátíð í Vestmannaeyjum is an Icelandic festival held on the weekend before the first monday of August, which is a national holiday in Iceland called Trademen's Day or Commerce Day. It is held on the island of Heimaey 4 miles south of Iceland in a valley called Herjólfsdalur.
History
editAugust 2nd 1874 the people of Iceland celebrated the nation's one thousandth birthday at Þingvellir. Because of bad weather surrounding the islands of Vestmannaeyjar the inhabitants were weather-bound and could not make it to the mainland. They decided to hold their own festival, and so the first Þjóðhátíð was reality.
The next festival was not held until 1901 but has been held every year since then, even just months after the Eldfell eruption in 1973 which destroyed a big part of the town. Between 1920 and 1996 the local sport clubs Þór and Týr hosted the festival, dividing it between the years. Since 1996 the festival has been hosted by the merged ÍBV (The Vestmannaeyjar Sports Accociation).
Þjóðhátíð takes place in Herjólfsdalur (Herjólf's valley)
References
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