Árni Björnsson

Árni Björnsson (born January 16, 1932) is an Icelandic ethnographer. He was the director of the ethnography department of the National Museum of Iceland from 1969 to 2002. He is best known for his writings on Icelandic festivals and holidays and the customs and folk beliefs associated with them. His best-known work is probably (The Story of Days), which is also his doctoral thesis, which he defended in 1993.

On the occasion of Árni's 85th birthday in 2017, a large collection of his articles was published in a book entitled (Lighthearted and Serious). It includes sections on scholarship, poetry, cultural history, world affairs and peculiar people. Much of his work has not been translated into English.

Publications Jól á Íslandi (Christmas in Iceland)- 1963 Saga daganna (The Story of Days) - 1977 Icelandic Feasts and Holidays - 1980 Merkisdagar á mannsævinni (Significant Days in a Person's Life) 1981 Í jólaskapi (In the Christmas Mood) with photos by Hring Jóhannesson - original version 1983 Gamlar þjóðlífsmyndir (Old Folktales) with Halldór J. Jónssyn - 1984 Þorrablót á Íslandi (Winter Feast in Iceland) - 1986 Íslandsmyndir Mayers (Mayer's Images of Iceland) with Ásgeir S. Björnssyn - 1986 Hræranlegar hátíðir (Moveable Feasts)- 1987 Eyjar í Snæfellsnes- og Dalasýslu - Árbók Ferðafélags Íslands (Islands in Snæfellsnes and Dalasyslú - Yearbook of the Icelandic Tourist Board) - 1989 Íslenskt vættatal (Icelandic Fairy Tales} - 1990 Saga daganna - doctoral dissertation 1993 High Days and Holidays in Iceland - 1995 Merkisdagar á mannsævinni (Significant Days in a Person's Life)- extended version 1996 Dalaheiði - Árbók Ferðafélags Íslands (Dalaheiði - Yearbook of the Icelandic Tourist Board) 1997 Wagner og Völsungar (Wagner and the Volsungs) - 2000 Saga jólanna (The Story of Christmas) - 2006 Í Dali vestur - Árbók Ferðafélags Íslands (In the Dales to the West) 2011 Sigursveinn, baráttuglaður brautryðjandi (Sigursveinn,, A Militant Pioneer). The Biography of Sigursveinn D. Kristinsson - 2017 Í hálfkæringi og alvöru. Þættir um fræði, skáldlist, menningarsögu, heimsmálin og einkennilega menn í 85 ár - Afmælisrit (Lighthearted and Serious. Articles on scholarship, poetry, cultural history, world affairs and strange people for 85 years - Anniversary publication - 2017 Um vésögn Sóleyjarkvæðis ("On the Omen of the Sun's Poem") - in Sun the Beautiful - edited by Silja Aðalsteinsdóttur 2017 Söguslóðir í Dölum (Historic Trails in Dalir) - 2020