As is the custom in Iceland at the onset of Easter fasting or the annual Lent, children go around homes and companies. They are dressed up in costumes, show off and collect treats by singing. The roots of this custom are fairly ancient. The week starts by Monday- the bunday. Then homes and bakeries offer buns of all sorts. Fishballs and meatballs are the main dish followed by sweet buns filled with cream and jam. Then comes the Tuesday sprengidagur, - overeating day- when the food should be fat and filling, usually realised as a bean soup cooked on salted lamb or horse meat and consumed in quantities (reminds of mardi gras, of course). Finally on the Wednesday, termed Ashday, the kids wander between houses and sing. That is done in various fashions at various sites and has during the last decades from hanging small unwanted home made fabric bags to collecting treats. More information on these traditions are to be found in Icelandic on Icelandic wikipedia - And actually google translate is quite developed these days when translating to English at least.
