Festive Icelandic Matchboxes – British Matchbox Label and Bookmatch Society

Four Festive matchboxes, 110 x 65 x 20 mm each

Exhibitor : Gísli Jóhann Sigurðsson

I always say I collect matchbox labels, but then there are always some exceptions. I am very fond what are known as “Festive Matchboxes”, which are produced for Christmas here in Iceland.

Of course, you have to collect the complete boxes even though they take up a bit of space, but this part of my collection is growing very slowly. I keep these Festive Matchboxes in protective plastic boxes, and I start to get excited when it comes to the middle of November and I go and open the plastic boxes and look at these treasures, because it’s almost like meeting an old acquaintance again. I spread some of them on the shelves in my apartment and admire them until after Christmas when it is time to put them away again for another year.

The story of the Festive Matchboxes

Festive matchbox showing the wooden matches

These boxes started appearing the shops here in Iceland quite a few years ago, shortly before Christmas. Each one contains 45 wood matches and features a lovely drawing of a festive decoration on the front and on the back of the box, designed by the Icelandic artist Hekla Björk Guðmundsdóttir.

On the side of the box it says “matches” in three languages : Icelandic, English and German as well as a warning to keep away from children.

Until I visited Hekla recently I had only 16 of these matchboxes, but she allowed me to complete my collection so I now have 18.

Here are pictures of all my Festive matchboxes, click on an image to enlarge it. The last matchbox is not really a Festive matchbox : it shows a typical Icelandic Lopapeysa / Icelandic sweater.