Kids' program on Öskudagur (Ash Wednesday) at Edda and the National Museum: Mask making, marching, and the cat knocked out of the barrel!

The two cultural centers; Edda and the National Museum, located on either side of Suðurgata in Reykjavík, invite kids to make crafts and participate in the game of Knocking Out the Cat from the Barrel.

The program begins at Edda at 1 PM. In the museum's History classroom on the ground floor, there will be materials for mask making. How about making a cat mask for the day? At around 2:45 PM, there will be a parade across the street to the National Museum of Iceland, where the exciting game of Knocking the Cat Out of the Barrel begins at 3 PM in the children's and family room. Who will be crowned Cat King and Cat Queen of the day? And what's hidden inside the barrel?

All kids who participate in the game are invited to see the fun exhibition Like Cats and Dogs, where you can see film clips, photographs, archaeological remains and artifacts featuring dogs and cats. All the material in the exhibition is from the collections of the National Museum and the National Film Archives.

Of course, you can sing for the staff at both the National Museum and Edda and get a drink in return.

The Öskudagur program is free for everyone and all children up to the age of 18 get free admission to the exhibitions in both buildings every day.

Everyone is welcome!

Knocking the Cat Out of the Barrel

The game to Knocking the Cat Out of the Barrel came to Iceland from Denmark in the latter half of the 19th century. The game involves masked participants knocking on the outside of a hanging barrel until it breaks and the contents are revealed. The name of the game refers to the fact that a live cat was originally placed in the barrel. This cruelty was long abandoned before the game reached Iceland. Instead, it was most common for a dead raven to be hung by its legs inside the barrel and, when the barrel was broken, the carcass was beaten until its head fell off. Occasionally, a dead cat was given this treatment. The game died out in most places before the turn of the century, except in Akureyri. The game is slowly and steadily resurfacing across the country, especially in kindergartens, and snacks and candies ar kept in the barrel for the children to enjoy at the end of the game.

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