Bonfires
Bonfires, or brenna in Icelandic, are one of the most deeply rooted New Year's Eve traditions in Iceland. Every year on 31 December, community fires are lit at around ten locations across Reykjavík and in towns across the country, drawing neighbours and families together to mark the end of the year with singing, dancing, and speeches before the midnight fireworks. The tradition dates to 1791 when students in Reykjavík lit a fire near the city's first public school, and it has since become a citywide ritual that feels entirely different to any other New Year's Eve celebration in Northern Europe. The fires are open to everyone, including visitors, and typically burn from around 20:30 until 23:30.
Iceland's New Year's Eve Bonfire Tradition, Burning Since 1791 in Cities and Villages Across the Country
The Icelandic bonfire tradition on New Year's Eve began in Reykjavík in 1791 when students from Hólavallaskóli, the city's first public school, lit a fire near the school building. Over the following century the practice spread beyond the school, becoming a neighbourhood and then a citywide event. The fires are called brenna, meaning burning, and each one serves as a focal point for a specific community or district. In Reykjavík, up to ten separate brenna locations are organised across the city, each tended by a local group, with the fires themselves often built as tall standing structures rather than simple piles. The symbolism is widely understood: the flames represent the burning away of the old year's troubles and misfortunes before the fresh start of the new year begins at midnight.
The evening around the brenna follows a loose but familiar pattern. Families and neighbours gather from around 20:30, often after the traditional New Year's Eve dinner at home. Singing, dancing, and community speeches accompany the fire, and a preview fireworks display is often set off above the bonfire site around 21:00 to 21:30, ahead of the full midnight show. The atmosphere is distinctly communal and welcoming, and visitors who arrive at a brenna are generally absorbed into the crowd without formality. Children are a central part of the evening, with the combination of fire, community, and early fireworks making it one of the most visually memorable events on the Icelandic calendar. Iceland also has one of the most liberal fireworks cultures in Europe, with private firework sales permitted in the weeks around New Year and the night itself producing a sustained display across the whole country that can be seen from almost anywhere in Reykjavík.
Each brenna location in Reykjavík is managed by a local community group, and the specific sites are announced through local media in the days before New Year's Eve. There is no entrance fee and no ticket required. The fires typically wind down around 23:30 as crowds move toward viewing spots for the midnight fireworks display, which fills the sky above the city for a sustained period after midnight. For visitors planning a New Year's Eve stay in Iceland, attending a brenna is one of the most genuinely local experiences the country offers at any time of year, and one that is entirely accessible without a guide or tour.
