2018-11-12 Mon

On 1st January 1930, Iceland Post issued its first set of commemorative stamps. The stamp with the highest denomination depicts the Ritual of Sacrificing to Thor.

A set of 15 stamps were issued to celebrate the 1,000th Anniversary of the Althing or the Icelandic Parliament, one of the oldest parliamentary institutions in the World. The fifteen designs reflect one thousand years of Icelandic culture and history. One of the measure parts of their culture is the sacrifice.

Termed as Blot in Norse paganism, a sacrifice to Thor is the most important ritual. Thor was the most powerful god and ruled over thunder and lightning, wind and rain, sunshine and crops. If there is disease or famine, they sacrifice to Thor.

This 10 Icelandic krona stamp depicts an aged Viking sacrificing in front of a huge fire altar flanked by the raising fire on both the sides. The stamp is inscribed at the top with the name of the country sandwiched between the dates 930 and 1930 and the denomination at the bottom.

Image courtesy: https://colnect.com