https://deepenglish.com/2018/03/icelanders-accuse-nato-threatening-elves/

Результат пошуку зображень за запитом "исландские эльфы"

In Iceland, elves are a part of the national culture. Many of thecountry’s 230,000 citizens believe they actually exist.

This belief is what led a mob of 150 men and women to protest aNATO military base in Keflavik in 1982. They believed the military wasdisrespecting the elves and their jets were desecrating the holyground of the hidden people.

NATO respected the protesters’ feelings and invited them to inspecttheir base. Satisfied no elves were being harmed, the group left inpeace.

It may sound like fantasy, but in Iceland, elves are a fact of life.

According to a 2006 survey, 32 percent of Icelanders believe in thepossibility of elves. Another 26 percent believe their existence is acast iron certainty.

They’re considered a peaceful breed of small creatures who look a lotlike humans.

University of Iceland professor, Valdimar Hafstein, advises to leaveelves alone. Treat them with respect, do not upset their dwellingplaces and they’ll be quite harmless. Cross them at your peril.

Iceland is rife with tales of elves sabotaging construction projects.Why? Because they do not take kindly to having their rock housesand churches blown up with construction dynamite.

The Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration has created a five-pagedocument on elves.

It reads, “We value the heritage of our ancestors. Oral tradition mightsuggest supernatural beings inhabit a certain rock. The rock is thenconsidered a cultural treasure. Our reaction to these concerns hasvaried. In some cases, we have delayed the construction project. Thisallows the elves to supposedly move on.”

In 2010, former Icelandic member of Parliament Árni Johnsen’s carwent off a small cliff. He swears a group of elves living in a nearby rocksaved his life. When a road was planned over the rock, he begged thedevelopers to save it. They granted his wish and moved the 30-tonrock to a safe place.

It should be stressed that not everyone in Iceland believes in elves.One theory suggests Icelanders created the superstition, so theydidn’t feel so alone in such a majestic, but unpredictable landscape.

Professor of Folklore, Adalheidur Gudmundsdottir, says, “You can’t livein this landscape and not believe in a force greater than you.Icelanders are not uneducated peasants who believe in fairies. But ifyou live here you’ll understand why the power of folklore is so strong.”