Holidays and Events in Iceland

Updated September 2026

Iceland celebrates plenty of holidays and festivals through the year. Most arts and music events happen in Reykjavik, but the big holidays are celebrated in towns large and small, and a few of the best festivals take place in fishing villages at the far ends of the country. Here's a roundup by month, with links to each festival's own website so you can check this year's dates before you book.

A quick note on public holidays: shops, banks and some restaurants close or keep short hours on them. Iceland's public holidays are the Church of Iceland's religious holidays plus the First Day of Summer, May Day, National Day and Commerce Day, and Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are holidays from 1pm.

January and February

Þrettándinn, the end of Christmas (6 January)

Epiphany, the thirteenth day of Christmas, officially closes the holiday season. Many towns mark it with bonfires and fireworks, a last blast before the dark weeks of midwinter.

Þorrablót (from late January to late February)

The old Norse month of Þorri runs from Bóndadagur (Husband's Day), a Friday in late January (usually between 19 and 25 January), until Konudagur (Woman's Day), a Sunday usually between 18 and 24 February, when the next month begins. Þorrablót is the midwinter feast, and it's the season for Þorramatur: slátur (Iceland's version of haggis), singed sheep's head, fermented shark, sour ram's testicles and dark rye bread, washed down with plenty of Brennivín. Icelanders gather for Þorrablót feasts with singing, drinking and all the traditional food they can handle, and many restaurants offer special Þorri menus. For the brave, see our page on Icelandic delicacies.

Dark Music Days (January)

Dark Music Days (Myrkir músíkdagar) is a contemporary music festival founded in 1980 by the Society of Icelandic Composers and held each year in Reykjavik during the darkest days of winter. The 2026 festival ran from 29 January to 1 February, with concerts at Harpa and Hallgrímskirkja.

Winter Lights Festival (early February)

Vetrarhátíð, the Winter Lights Festival, fills all six towns of the capital area with light art and more than 150 events, including Museum Night and Pool Night, and every event is free. The 2027 festival runs 4 to 7 February.

Bolludagur, or Bun Day (the Monday before Lent)

On Bolludagur, people eat cream puffs, or "buns", with reckless abandon. They come in all shapes and sizes, filled with cream or jam, and every bakery in town has a line. Children wake up early and try to catch their parents still in bed. If they do, they "beat" them out of bed with homemade bun wands, and earn one cream puff for every blow. In 2027 Bolludagur falls on 8 February.

Sprengidagur, or Bursting Day (Shrove Tuesday)

The day after Bun Day, the thing to eat is saltkjöt og baunir, salted lamb with split-pea soup. The name refers to the idea that people eat until they burst.

Öskudagur (Ash Wednesday)

Ash Wednesday is a bit like Halloween in the US. Children dress up in costumes and go around town singing at shops and businesses in exchange for candy. The older tradition was to sew little ash bags (öskupokar) and secretly pin them onto people's clothes.

Food & Fun Festival (late February or early March)

At the Food & Fun Festival, chefs from both sides of the Atlantic team up with Reykjavik restaurants to cook special menus using Icelandic ingredients. The 2026 edition ran 25 February to 1 March. If you care about food, it's a good excuse for a late-winter trip.

March and April

Beer Day (1 March)

Beer Day marks the end of Iceland's beer ban on 1 March 1989. Prohibition came in during the 1910s, and while wine and spirits came back earlier, beer wasn't sold again until 1 March 1989, more than 70 years later. Reykjavik's bars celebrate with pub crawls and parties. See drinking in Iceland.

Aldrei fór ég suður (Easter weekend)

Aldrei fór ég suður ("I never went south") is a music festival in Ísafjörður in the Westfjords, held over Easter. The 2027 festival is 26 and 27 March. Getting there is part of the adventure; see getting from Reykjavik to Isafjordur.

Stockfish Film Festival (April)

Stockfish is a Reykjavik film festival with an industry program and a short-film competition. The 2027 edition runs 8 to 18 April.

Iceland Writers Retreat and the Reykjavík International Literary Festival (April)

Reykjavik is a UNESCO City of Literature, and April is its busy month. The Iceland Writers Retreat, a non-profit, runs small-group writing workshops and literary tours; the next one is 14 to 18 April 2027. The Reykjavík International Literary Festival is held every two years, with free events in English and Icelandic at venues downtown. Its 18th edition is 21 to 25 April 2027.

First Day of Summer (the Thursday between 19 and 25 April)

Sumardagurinn fyrsti is a public holiday, and one of the more charming ones, since it often arrives with sleet. Towns hold parades, sports events and concerts anyway.

May and June

Reykjavik Arts Festival (late May to mid-June, every other year)

The Reykjavik Arts Festival has been running since 1970, with exhibitions, concerts, dance, theater and opera from Icelandic and international artists. It's now held every other year, not every May as this page used to say. It was biennial from the start, annual from 2005 to 2016, and biennial again since. The 2026 festival ran 30 May to 14 June, and the next edition hasn't been announced yet.

Sjómannadagurinn, or Seamen's Day (first Sunday in June)

Seamen's Day falls on the first Sunday in June, or the following Sunday if that date is Whit Sunday. It honors the fishermen who built Iceland's economy, and it's biggest in the fishing villages: parades, rowing and swimming races, tugs of war and sea-rescue demonstrations, with plenty of food.

National Day (17 June)

Iceland became a republic on 17 June 1944, and 17. júní is the national holiday. The date was chosen because it's the birthday of Jón Sigurðsson, who led the 19th-century independence movement. Expect parades, flags, face paint and concerts all over the country, with the biggest crowds in downtown Reykjavik.

July and August

Bræðslan (late July)

Bræðslan is a music festival in Borgarfjörður eystri, a tiny village in the East Fjords, and it turned 20 in 2026. The main 2026 concert was on 25 July. Book a bed early; the village is small.

Verslunarmannahelgi (the first weekend in August)

Commerce Day, the first Monday in August, makes this the biggest domestic travel weekend of the year. Families head to the countryside, and Reykjavik's bars and restaurants are much quieter than usual. Expect busy roads and full campsites.

Þjóðhátíð in the Westman Islands (the same weekend)

The biggest party of that weekend is Þjóðhátíð in Herjólfsdalur on Heimaey, with music, a bonfire and a big hillside singalong. The 2027 festival is 29 July to 2 August. Ferry and campsite space go fast. See our page on the Westman Islands.

Reykjavik Pride (early August)

Reykjavik Pride (Hinsegin dagar) is a week of events that ends with the Pride Parade, the highlight of the week and one of the biggest crowds of the Reykjavik summer. Reykjavik Pride 2026 ran 4 to 9 August.

Reykjavik Culture Night and the Reykjavik Marathon (the Saturday of the week of 18 August)

On Menningarnótt (Culture Night), downtown museums, galleries, churches, cafés and shops stay open late, with concerts, performances and exhibitions all over the city, ending in fireworks. It falls on the same day as the Reykjavik Marathon, held on the Saturday of the week that 18 August falls, the city's birthday. The race has distances for all ages, and 16,000 runners took part in 2026. Culture Night 2026 was on 22 August, and the 2027 date is 21 August.

Reykjavík Jazz Festival (late August)

The Reykjavík Jazz Festival brings Icelandic and international jazz acts to venues around the city. The 2026 festival ran 25 to 30 August.

A note on Fiskidagurinn mikli: the free "Great Fish Day" in Dalvík, north of Akureyri, used to be one of the best small-town festivals in Iceland. It was held 20 times between 2001 and 2023, and in November 2023 its organizers announced it was over for good, citing rising security and supply costs. It hasn't come back since.

September to December

Réttir, the sheep and horse round-ups (September)

In September, farmers round up the sheep that have spent the summer roaming free in the highlands, and sort them in stone or wooden pens called réttir. Horse round-ups happen in autumn too, and the farmers' newspaper Bændablaðið publishes each year's dates (the 2026 list, in Icelandic). Some farms welcome visitors to help, and even novice riders can pitch in. Ask at your guesthouse or a local tourist office.

RIFF, the Reykjavík International Film Festival (late September)

RIFF shows films from around the world, with special screenings and industry days. The 2026 festival opens on 24 September at Háskólabíó.

Iceland Airwaves (early November)

Iceland Airwaves started in October 1999 as a one-off show in an aircraft hangar, and moved to November in 2014. It's a multi-genre music festival spread across venues all over Reykjavik, with Icelandic and international acts. The 2026 festival runs 4 to 8 November.

The Christmas season (December)

Christmas in Iceland starts on 12 December, when the first of the 13 Yule Lads comes down from the mountains. One arrives each night over the 13 nights before Christmas, with names like Window Peeper, Bowl Licker, Pot Scraper and Door Slammer. Children leave a shoe on the windowsill, and a Yule Lad leaves a small gift if they've been good, or a rotten potato if they haven't. Towns string up thousands of lights, and on Christmas Eve families have dinner and open presents. Beware the Yule Cat, who eats people who didn't get new clothes for Christmas.

>> More on Christmas in Iceland and Iceland in December

New Year's Eve (31 December)

Like much of the world, Iceland counts down to midnight with fireworks, and Reykjavik's are spectacular because so many people set off their own. Unlike many places, the bars and clubs aren't the busiest spots early on. Families have dinner together, gather at neighborhood bonfires, and the serious partying doesn't start until after midnight.

>> More on New Year's Eve in Iceland

FAQ

Is it a problem to visit Iceland on a public holiday?

Not really, but plan for it. Shops and some restaurants close or shorten their hours, and Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are holidays from 1pm. Tourist attractions and hotels usually stay open. Buses may run on a holiday schedule, so check Strætó for the day.

Which festival is worth planning a trip around?

For music, Iceland Airwaves in November, when you also have a chance of northern lights. For a very local experience, a village festival like Aldrei fór ég suður or Bræðslan. For something free in the city, Culture Night in August or the Winter Lights Festival in February.

When are the festival dates announced?

Most festivals post next year's dates months ahead. The links above go to each festival's own website, which is the best place to check before you book flights.

>> Plan around the seasons with when to go to Iceland, or read our month-by-month pages, from Iceland in January to Iceland in November.

Photos by Kristin Sig, ~jake&eva~, Canadian Veggie, Bjornstar