Bun-day (“Spanking Day”) and bolluvöndur or bun broom

 

Bun-day buns

The oldest printed source for the name bolludagur is since 1910. Before that, the day was called “Spanking Day”, connected to the custom of children spanking their parents to get buns. It’s true. We even still do this. Don’t worry; we’ll get to it later.

Photo: Sandholt Bakery

Bun eating has been known from at least the beginning of the 20th century. However, it is more likely that the custom dates back to the middle of the 19th.

It is estimated that Icelandic bakers bake around 1 million buns for the bun day, but many bake their own at home. The buns are usually served with cream and jam on the inside and chocolate on top, but bakeries offer many different varieties. There are two different types of buns available: Cream puffs and yeast buns.

Despite the actual day always landing on a Monday, many celebrate it at home the day before. Bakeries have also started selling the buns up to two weeks before the actual day.

Bolluvendir

One purely Icelandic custom related to the day is the bolluvöndur or bun broom. It is believed the custom is another one that initially was associated with Ash Wednesday. It was a custom to scatter ash with some kind of broom or branch in churches on the day during Catholicism. Pious people would sometimes spank themselves with ash-covered branches. 

Children generally make it from colourful craft paper and a stick. Then it is used to spank their parents and shout: BOLLA BOLLA BOLLA! (bun bun bun!) This indicates that the parents should get going and give the children some buns. The custom is to do this to their sleeping parents and thus wake them up with the bun demands.

Photo: Solja Virkkunen

It is unknown how this custom came to Iceland, but it most likely was brought from Denmark with merchants in the 19th century.

At first, the spanking wasn’t valid unless the spanker was fully dressed and the spanked person undressed. Each spank meant one bun. So the more the children managed to spank their parents (or guardians), the more buns they would (or should) get.

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