In the Medieval Era there arose a lot of superstitions and folk beliefs that still are in existence in Iceland, some of them are retold here. Many of them are connected to either Yule Eve, New Year's Eve or Þrettándinn, as these days have been moved around in the calendar, and beliefs have been transposed from one to the other. Churchyards are supposed to "rise" on these nights, that is to say: the dead walk the graveyard.
Water is supposed to turn into wine for a short time on New Year's Eve or Þrettándinn, this is mainly connected to the river Öxará at Þingvellir. This river also sometimes turns into blood, and then one can expect the Alþing (the old Icelandic Parliament) to be bloody the next year.
The Búrdrífa, Larder Fall, was the rime that collected on the larder floor on New Year's Eve, and was supposed to bring wealth and happiness.
One is supposed to be able to see one's future husband, or wife, on New Year's Eve by looking in a mirror in a pitch-black room. Nobody else may be present, and you must chant a magical lay, and then a hand with a knife appears in the mirror three times, but after that the picture will solidify into the face of one's intended.
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