Report from the University of Iceland on the Nordplus TEN network course in
Riga, Latvia in 14.-18. September 2015
Three teachers attended the course from the University of Iceland – School of Education
along with three teacher training students. The title of the course was: námskeiðið
Traditional seasonal festivities in Baltic and Nordic cultures: Similarities and differences.
The Icelanding teacher students were all third year students:
Arianna Ferro, specializing in drama, music and art
Daníel Ómar Viggósson, specializing in drama and Icelandic language
Erla Jónatansdóttir, specializing in music, drama and social studies
The teachers were:
Hanna Ólafsdóttir, Art teacher
Helga Rut Guðmundsdóttir, Music teacher
Kristín Á. Ólafsdóttir, Drama teacher
Around the 20. August it became clear which students would be able to attend the course. It
was difficult to reach them during summer vacations. There were more students interested
in going than were able to go for financial reasons or other circumstances.
The group met for the first time on 27. August. Preparations for the 60 minute presentation
in Riga were achieved through five meetings and rehearsals. This included among other
things a visit from folk dancers who taught us to dance traditinal dances.
Perparations were also done through a facebook page. Students and teachers conducted
research in various areas in order to gather information about old traditions associated with
the fall season. Also, various information on visual material, traditional storytelling, folklore,
folkmusic and folk dances was gathered. The aim was to find traces of old traditions in
modern time festivals. The students selected from the compilation of materials and
composed the program for the presentation. The students were also responsible for most of
the performance itself. However, the teachers partipated if and where needed. Several
hours were also spent practicing in Riga, the two nights before the performance.
Most of the creative work for this course occurred before arriving in Riga, which is the
opposite from the arrangement in the two previous courses in 2011 in Reykjavik and in 2013
in Bergen. Groups from each institution gathered information, composed a program and
rehearsed a one hour demonstration before the course had even begun. In the two previous
courses the creative work and practice took place during the course and across institutions
and nationalities. The preparation periond then, was more in terms of participatns
familiarizing themselves with the material related to the topic at hand. The old poem of
Voluspa was the topic for the 2011 course in Reykjavik and the for the 2013 course in Bergen
the inspriation for the creative process was the hidden creatures in the folklore tradition of
Norway.
The mode of working for this course in 2015 had its pros and cons in comparison to the
previous ones. Possibly the participants went deeper into the topics at hand and gathered
more knowledge on the customs of their own country before the course. Also, during the
course itself the participants learned a great deal about the culture and customs of other
countries through the presentations. However, the down side of organizing the course in this
way is twofold in our opinion. Enormous amount of time was spent in creating and practicing
the presentation before the course began and it was not easy to find time for this at the
beginning of the school year. Furthermore, we felt that the presentations from the eight
participating institutions did take way too much time. This tight program deprived students
of opportunities to get to know other participants, working together creatively across
nationalities. In reality there was no time or opportunity allowed for creating something new
together and giving new projects a chance to take off. Courses like this one should in fact
provide a precious opportunity for cooperation and creating networks between students
and teachers from different countries.
The highlight of the course was the day before the last day. Then the whole group travelled
together to the country side and prepared together, across nations a harvesting festival
according to Latvian traditions with some strategic inputs from the other nations, such as
with nordic dances and singing. During the festival there were many curious happenings that
were highly interesting for us the Icelanders. For example had non of us braded crowns of
wheat, made dolls with specific fertility symbols or taken part in games that highlight
femininity and masculinity. It was very interesting to parttake in the symbolic rituals of the
festival that we are not accustomed to. During this festivity connections formed between
participants in craft work, music, play and dance. The weather was unseasonably good, the
nature was beautiful and we enjoyed the special foods on the festival table.
The last morning was productive and in the spirit of cooperation. Participants evaluated the
learning outcomes and provided ideas on how to mediate what had been learned during the
course. Both within each home institution and across the network, for example on a
common blog site. This way one would be able to make use of what was learned and
develop it further in a pedagogical manner. Hopefully the interesting ideas that came forth
in this session will materialize.
Only one of the three Icelandic teachers was able to participate in the teacher meeting on
the last day, and even had to leave before the meeting was over in order to catch a flight
back. At the meeting practical matters were discussed regarding finances and reporting.
The possible topics of future courses were also discussed with future applications in mind.
The Riga course was the last in a trilogy of courses on mythology and old traditions. An idea
was proposed originating from the Icelandic teachers, to create a theme on peace in
multicultural world and societies. This is a relevant topic in todays world situation with the
high rise of immigration to the western world. We also suggested that there should be a
focus on organizing courses in such a way that pedagogical banks of ideas will be created as
a mandate of the course itself.
For us, the Icelandic participants it was highly informative to learn about the Baltic nations.
Four of us hand never before been to the Baltic. We think Riga is a beautiful and exciting city
to visit and we were lucky to live in a hotel in the heart of old Riga. We find it charming how
mideaval period and culture is promoted. We enjoyed the open air museum that we visited
and were interested in the housing, craft and ways of the ancient times.
The organizers and leaders of the Riga course were exteremely helpful and gave their fullest
to the course. They received well any ideas and requests that were made during the course.
They provided a farm and farmers which made the harvesting festival quite a real experience
and received the group with generosity. The entertaining folk musicians at the farm also
helped make the experience authentic and unforgettable. We also appreciated the Latvian
teacher students who were very good hosts to us during our stay in Riga.
Nordplus Higher education
Teacher Education Network 2015-10-12
Icelandic student´s report
A workshop in Riga 14. September – 18. September
Mythology, culture and identity in the Nordic and Baltic countries
The intensive course is a collaboration between the Nordic and Baltic countries which was held
in one of the Baltic countries, Latvia. The workshop took place in the Riga Teacher Training and
Educational Management Academy in September 14th to 18th. The workshops theme was
“Traditional seasonal festivities in Baltic and Nordic cultures: Similarities and differences”. The
main focus was on autumn festivities in each country, especially festivities related to autumn
equinox. Autum equinox in the northern hemisphere is when day and night are equally long, the
day is as long as the night after the long hours of summer. The sun is getting lower on the
horizon at this time of year and winter is just around the corner. The participants also talked
about festivities in general and what was special for each country and what the festivities have
in common.
The participants where students and teachers from six countries and from eight
institutions in teacher education programs that specialize in music, theater and/or the arts. The
Baltic participants where from the host country Latvia and also from their closest neighbour
countries, Lithuania and Estonia. The Nordic participants where from Norway, Denmark and
Iceland.
Learning about different traditions in each country was very educational. In the Baltic countries
the autumn festivities and autumn eqinox are clearly of great importance and regarded as a
serious part of the culture and the traditions in these countries. The celebration of the harvest in
autumn, giving thanks to nature and the fertility gods or spirits, is of great importance and plays
a large role in their festivities. The Baltic countries have a lot in common and I learned that they
are deeply connectet to nature and the majority of the Baltic people hold these old traditions in
high regards. The tradition of thanking nature for one little apple that is either picked from a
tree or picked up after having dropped to the ground, is something an Icelander does not think
about, because we do not have the luxury of having apple trees in our gardens. It was a great
thing and moving to experience the joy and the gratitude for the gifts of nature that the Baltic
people showed us. The traditional festival celebration in all the Baltic countries consists of five
main parts: The harvest is the most important, then there is the importance of the family and
honoring the ancestors along with the host, some form of fire ritual, traditional celebrations and
last but not least dancing, singing and playing games.
It seems that the autumn traditions and festivities are not as important for the people
living in the Nordic countries as it is for those living in the Baltic countries. All the participants
from the Nordic countries had some national traditions to share in their presentations. However
they did not have as strong similarities as we experienced from the traditions that the people
from the Baltic countries presented to us. Although every Nordic nation can relate to some old
sagas or stories about mythical creatures or signs that somehow symbolize the autumn harvest
season, the creatures and signs are different from one country to another and they seem to have
different roles, even though there are clear similarities in some areas.
The people from the Nordic countries all celabrate the harvest season in some way, but
other festivals are more important. The Nordic countries do not necessarily celebrate the
autumn with its shorter days, or the longer nights. Most of them seem to focus on celebrating the
meaning of light around Christmas time, the winter soltice which marks he beginning of sun
rising again after the long darkness of winter, and the Nordic people also celebrate midsummer
in some form. Song, dance and playing games are important factors in the Nordic festivities but
they seem to be more important in the Baltic countries. It was interesting to compare the
traditions and celebrations, and to see what in fact these nations, who have been living so close
to each other for centuries, have in common, and what makes them different from each other.
There are a lot of different things that I learned in the week I spent in Riga. I learned practical
things like new songs from every country that participated in the course. I learned traditional
games and dances from each country and dances that I didn’t know from my own country, all of
which I can now teach to my friends and family, and most importantly to my future students. I
learend to take notice of the little things in nature and in my surroundings and to give thanks to
what nature has to offer. I got to know a lot of great people from all the participating countries
and hopefully we will keep in touch in the future.
The greater lesson that I learned was the importance of traditions in each country and
how we all look at our traditions in different ways. I got to know my own culture a little bit more
by digging into the Icelandic autumn traditions during the preperation period. Another thing
that will be useful is the time spent working out how to present our traditions and culture to
others in a meaningfull way. I learned to appreciate the cultural diffrences and to see the
similarities in all of our traditions. One of the most important lessons, in my opinion, is that we
have to keep our minds open, especially at present time when flocks of refugees are travelling
from the Mediterranean to different parts of Europe. The people of Europe have to be able to
meet the refugees with open hearts. It is important to embrace different ideas and culture and
welcome the oportunity to create a stronger community together with these new citizens of
Europe, based on what each and everyone have to give and start making new traditions
together.
I would like to make these Baltic autumn traditions that I learned a part of my classroom
in the future. I see great opportunities in celebrating all kinds of new exiting cultural traditions
from all around the world which can help build bridges. It is the role of a good teacher to open
up doors, enlighten the students and help them in making new traditions.
This intensive course was quite good and positive in many ways. In order to make the course
better and perhaps more interesting I would like to suggest a few things that could increse the
value of the experience. First of all it would be good to schedule more time for everyone at the
course to get to know each other. The main reason is that I think it is very important to be able
to talk to like-minded people, find out what your peers are thinking and doing, and make
connections. The connection I made in Riga could have been even stronger, but I will never the
less benefit from them in my studies in the future. When I become a teacher and need some kind
of material from the Nordic or the Baltic countries, for example sheet music or instructions for a
dance or a game, I can get in touch with some of my fellow students at the intensive course, and
ask them for assistance.
I would have liked to have more time to work in smaller groups and to use our creativity
to make something new out of these old traditions that we learned about. There could perhaps
have been shorter time given for each institution‘s presentation and more time for mixed group
sessions.
At the end of the course we disscused how we could spread the word about what we had
learned over the week and some good ideas came up. For example a collaborative blog where
every institution and country could make a contribution about their presentations, their
traditions, put in videos from the week, instructions for the dances and games and so on.
Hopefully, we as a goup, will make this blog into a reality in the near future. I recommend having
a disscussion like this in the beginning of the next course so that everyone can document their
participation in a more organized way and maybe have something to share right away at the end
of the course.
The week in Riga was very informative and I learned many things that I can definately use in my
upcoming studies and as a teacher in the future.
Erla Jónatansdóttir
University of Iceland
Teacher educational program
Speciality: music and theatre
Nordplus Higher education
Teacher Education Network
2015-10-12 Icelandic student´s report
A workshop in Riga 14th of September – 18th of September
Mythology, culture and identity in the Nordic and Baltic countries
Arianna Ferro, University of Iceland, Teacher educational program,
Speciality: music, theatre and art
The week 14th – 18th of September three students and three teachers of the Teacher
educational program in the University of Iceland head up to Riga, Latvia. There we met other
students and teachers with the same focus, teaching and learning music, drama or art. It was
great group of open, fun creative people that went beyond my expectations for the week. I came
with an open mind and the main thing I said to myself was “I want to learn something new, get to
know new people and new cultures”. That for sure I took home with me, memories of great
people, country and activities.
First of all I got to know the roots of many other countries, especially Latvia of course. The
instructions was to have a one hour presentation from each country about their aurumn
festiveties and the Mythology, culture and identity of the countrie. To make every country do
that was really cleaver in a way to get to know a little bit about the traditions and different
characteristic people. It made me also see how similar we all are. A lot of traditions were the
same like elves from Norway and Iceland, the fire sculptures from the Baltic countries, the
scarecrow and respect for nature in all countries. I learned many things from the presentations
that I can use in my own classroom, for example many culture dances, songs and artwork. It is
really important for students to know more cultures around the world by doing, not only
reading in books or from the Internet.
I learned a lot on the trip to the countryside and we experienced what we had learn from all of
the presentations. We built a fire sculpture, hand crafted fertility dolls, made crowns and belt out
of corn straws, had traditional food from the countries, played traditional games from most of
the countries under the sun and danced together till the sun went down. In the end of the
evening we walked together to the Ash tree, the hosts wearing the crown and belt and people
with Latvian horn playing and singing. There we sang together wile the master of the house lit
up a little fire next to the ash tree. Then he poured wine and food over it as they did in the
ancient times. Then we lit up candles in a lantern from Denmark and danced an Icelandic
folkdance. Then we walked to the fire sculpture and lit it on fire. While it burned, we sang a song
from Norway that we learned earlier in the trip.
What was interesting for me was the culture band we got to listen to earlier in the week. We got
to know a lot about old traditional instruments and heard them in action with the culture band
that came to the school to play for us. Many instruments were the same from Lithuania, Latvia
and Estonia.
When we went to the Open Air museum we also got to see, feel and experience what we had
learned about Latvia. The houses were differently built to the old Icelandic houses but many
people living under the same roof is in both countries. I found it fascinating how old way of
living, required a lot of physical work. The way they made clothes, blankets and food. They made
bread, using holes in the wall and made bed for infants what I thought was just a resent thing to
have. It was silence and nature all around and you could see how much humans have become
bigger with time because all the bed and doors were so small.
What was funny was how much old traditions focused in fertility things, like this funny game
where the girls hit a peace of fruit sculpture made of cucumber and two apples so it looked like a
men genitals. The men tried to catch it from the women and the men that catch it was the winner
and becomes like the fertility god. The women also made these fertility dolls for themselves,
which kids could not play with. People from that rime period also made many interesting things
to have a good harvest. Like, not take all of the wheat and leave a small peace of it in the ground,
braid it in a special way and poor wine over it. This was a symbol to not be greedy and leave
something for next years harvest.
I realize when I´m writhing this report that I could go on and on about this trip and the amazing
things that I experienced. I don´t have anything to say that was done wrongly, the women in
control of the trip did a great job and put their heart in to this course that made it extra special.
Thank you for this interesting week. I´m not the same as before.
Nordplus Higher education Teacher Education Network 2015-10-12 Icelandic student´s report
A workshop in Riga 14. September – 18. September
Mythology, culture and identity in the Nordic and Baltic countries
I attended the workshop in Riga from the 14th to the 18th of september 2015. The experience
was really valuable to me, both personally and as an aspiring teacher. I will outline in this short
summary what I took away from this workshop that will benefit me as a teacher.
My experience
The workshop was an incredibly fruitful one for me. Not only did I learn from the other countries
what traditions they have surrounding the autumn equinox but also gained an increased insight
into the traditions that take place this time of year in Iceland. Participation in this workshop was
enjoyable due to the varied style of presentation from the participating schools and the different
traditions being presented.
It also came as a pleasant surprise how different the traditions can be, even between countries
that are close neighbors with close cultural ties. That for me showed that nothing should be
taken for granted when comparing neighboring nations.
Putting it to use
But one thing is to attend such a workshop and another to put it to use in the classroom. After
the workshop I thought about it alot and I think what I learned in the workshop can be used in
various ways in the classroom.
One thing that the workshop has showed me is a way to include everyone in a multicultural
classroom. We in Iceland have had a stream of new residents come to the country from all over
the world. By introducing the different traditions to one
another students can gain a valuable insight into their own culture and get an added sense of
self awareness.
It is in my opinion very important to allow children of different origin to introduce their culture
to their classmates and a project similiar to the one we ran in the wokshop would be a perfect
way to do that. The icelandic students would also gain alot of insight into their own culture, like I
learned while researching for the workshop. It can also work as a way to bridge the gap between
generations as the students can look to their parents, grandparents and even greatgrandparents for information on such a project.
Such a project would of course not have to be tied solely to the autumn, there are so many
different traditions tied to the different seasons that can be used in a similar manner in the
classroom. The scope of the project can also be adjusted depending on the age of the children,
the time available for the project and how used the students are to working in this manner.
It can do so much for students from a different country to share with their classmates something
that is special to them and their culture and other students benefit from it as well by gaining an
insight into different cultures.
Conclusion
Being a participant in such a workshop helped me open my eyes to the variety that can exist
within the multicultural classroom of Iceland today. With the knowledge I gained from the
workshop I am sure I will be able to harness the knowledge of the students.
I look forward to working with similar themes in my work as a teacher.
Daníel Ómar Viggósson
University of Iceland
Teacher educational program
Speciality: Icelandic and drama