bvenner 
There are very few trees in Iceland. When Christmas time approaches, these ingenious people make their own decorative tree. On a pole serving as the center shorter ones are fastened as branches. Should the snow thaw, armloads of shrubs with foliage like our cedars are brought in and fastened to the framework. With its homemade colored-paper ornaments and old-fashioned candles, this artificial tree assumes a genuinely festive air. Prune cake and a thin bread patterned like a leaf and fried in mutton tallow are seasonal delicacies.
Since the population is largely Lutheran, the religious observance of the season is much like that in the Scandinavian countries.
