Fairies in Iceland

[dppnickel]

Greetings from Iceland.
I just got episode 290 and heard your wish to do a show on fairies in Iceland sometime. I assume you mean fairies as in little mystical beings and not ferries as in ships that convey people from one point to another, since we have both out here.
Iceland doesn't really have "fairies" as in wee folk, tiny beings with little bug-wings that fly about and are pretty. What we have here are largely classed as [i]álfur[/i] (elves, pronounced "owl-ver), who are also called the Hidden People.
One origin of these hidden people dates back to Adam and Eve, who were one day preparing for a visit from God. When God arrived He was pleased with the welcome they gave Him. He was also very happy to see Adam and Eve's children, but asked if they had any more children than the ones He could now see. Eve told God that they had no other children, but this was a lie. When Eve was getting ready for God's visit she hadn't had time to finish washing all of her children and so had hidden the unwashed children from the eyes of God, presenting Him only with the clean ones. God was aware of this and said: "What you have hidden from me shall be hidden from the eyes of men." Thus men were no longer able to see these unwashed children of Adam and Eve, and humans descended from the remaining, visible children. The Hidden People became the ancenstors of the elves who live in the rocks, hills and mounds of Iceland. These elves can see people and can make themselves seen when they choose.
Iceland has several folktales that relate the interactions between these hidden people and the Icelanders. There are also several old customs that people here know about, and the belief in elves, hidden people, trolls and other mystical beings is still very strong.
If you'd like, Gene and Bryan, I can throw together a few of these tales/customs for the both of you, or even send you a book with some of the more popular ones. This can get you started on a show about fairies in Iceland.
David in Iceland