The New Year's Eve bonfire tradition celebrated in Reykjavik, Iceland, is called a brenna.
Icelandic communities traditionally light large communal bonfires, known as brennur, during the New Year's period. In Reykjavik and surrounding areas, these fires provide gathering points where people meet outdoors, sing, and watch fireworks. The word is related to the Icelandic verb meaning “to burn.”
Bonfires have long been connected with the symbolic ending of the old year and the start of the new one. In contemporary Iceland, organized fires are subject to local rules, including requirements intended to protect people, property, and the environment. The number and location of fires can therefore vary.
Reykjavik's New Year's celebrations are also famous for unusually extensive private fireworks. Brenna is sometimes confused with Icelandic Christmas traditions, but the bonfires are particularly associated with New Year's Eve rather than with Christmas Day.