Advent , a novel by Gunnar Gunnarsson (1889–1975), is the Icelandic Christmas story that has been read in more languages than any other of the author's stories. The beginning of Advent has been traced to the short story "Den gode Hyrde" which was published in the Danish magazine Julesne in 1931. Gunnar often drew material from folk tales, and the story behind the story "Den gode Hyrde" is Þórður Jónsson's article about Fjalla-Bensi and his travels in the Mývatn region during Advent in 1925, "Í efterleit", which was published in Eimreiðinn , issue 1, 1931, around the time Gunnar was working on his story. The roots lie there, although there is a long way from this short story to the work of art that Advent is. An article by Sigurður Örn Guðbjörnsson, "On the Journey of a Small Christmas Story", which appears in the museum's newly published collection of selected items, Tímanna safn , discusses the sources behind Advent.

On Saturday, December 18, 1925, Benedikt Sigurjónsson left Grímsstaðir in bright weather and moonlight, and the trip was to head south to Grafarlönd to look for sheep. Benedikt was known for his adventurous journeys and had gone on such journeys many times. With him were his sheep Eitill and his dog Leó. In addition to a lunch for himself, Benedikt carried hay for the sheep and a kettle to heat water for coffee in a hut along the way. The following summer, Bárður Sigurðsson took the accompanying photo of Benedikt at his home in Skútustaðir in the Mývatn region, along with his sheep Eitill and his dog Leó. In the photo, Benedikt is wearing a snowshoe, but he was on skis and therefore had ski poles on the trip.

On timarit.is you can read Þórður Jónsson's piece about Fjalla-Bensi