The Icelandic Yule Lads, known as “Jólasveinar”, begin making their appearance 13 days before Christmas arriving one by one each night and leaving small gifts for the children. 13 days of gifts as well as Christmas gifts from Santa, sounds like a great idea to me!
The Yule Lads originated from Icelandic folklore and were portrayed as mischievous trolls that would steal food and livestock and harass and scare the children. They are the 13 sons of a terrifying ogress named Grýla who is said to live in the Icelandic mountains and comes down at Christmas time to capture naughty children, her favorite snack.
The early stories of the Yule Lads and Grýla were used to scare children into behaving. However in 1746 a public decree was issued prohibiting parents from using these stories to frighten their children into behaving. They have since turned from their life of petty crime and harassing, but are still known to pull a prank or two:)
Today the Yule Lads enjoy bringing joy to the children instead of scaring them. Starting 13 days before Christmas Eve one of the Yule Lads will visit the children each night and leave a gift. Children put a shoe in the window sill where the Yule Lads leave the gift in. The children receive small gifts such as small toys, books or a piece of fruit. However if they were bad they get a potato in their shoe.
I loved learning about these interesting Yule Lads and the quirky traits each one is said to have. Basically they all steal something in some form or other and are quite naughty characters. Here is a list of the Yule Lads in the order that they arrive.
Stekkjarstaur “Gimpy”
The first Yule Lad, Stekkjarstaur, arrives on the night of December 12. He is known to harass sheep but has trouble doing so with his stiff peg-legs.
Giljagaur “Gully Imp”
Giljagaur is the second Yule Lad who is known to hide out in gullies waiting for the chance to steal milk from the farmers cows.
Stúfur “Itty Bitty”
The third Yule Lad to arrive, Stúfur is extremely short and known for stealing pans so he can scrape the crust out of them to eat. While his extreme shortness makes him the smallest of the 13 Yule Lads he is also known to be very kind and a favorite among the children.
Þvörusleikir “Spoon Licker”
Þvörusleikir arrives on the fourth day and is said to be a very thin Yule Lad due to malnutrition. He is known for licking Þvörur (long wooden spoons) that were used to scrap the pots.
Pottaskefill “Pot Licker”
Pottaskefill visits on the 5th day, he is known to wait for a chance to steal pots that had not been washed so he could lick the food remaining inside.
Askasleikir “Bowl Licker”
Askasleikir shows up on the 6th day. You can find him hiding under beds waiting for you to put down your askur (a type of bowl with a lid on it) which he then steals so he can of course lick whatever is left in the bowl.
Hurðaskellir “Door Slammer”
The 7th Yule Lad to arrive, Hurðaskellir, enjoys making lots of noise. As his name says his favorite thing to do is to slam doors, especially at night.
Skyrgámur “Skyr Gobbler”
Skyrgámur has a love for skyr, an Icelandic dairy product similar to yogurt. When he arrives on the 8th day you can find him sneaking into pantries and eating all the skyr from the skyr tub.
Bjúgnakrækir “Sausage Swiper”
The 9th Yule Lad, Bjúgnakrækir “Sausage Swiper” hides in the rafters and steals sausages whenever he can, ideally though while the sausages are being smoked.
Gluggagægir “Window Peeper”
Gluggagægir “Window Peeper”, the 10th Yule Lad was said to not be as greedy as the other 12 Yule Lads. He mostly enjoys looking through windows and from time to time will steal a toy or two that he sees in the room.
Day 11 brings Gáttaþefur “Door Sniffer” has an abnormally large nose which he uses to smell laufabrauð (an Icelandic bread ate typically at Christmas time) so he can try and steal a loaf or two.
Ketkrókur “Meat Hooker” the 12th Yule Lad loves meat and does exactly has his name says, uses his hook to steal meat, preferably a smoked leg of lamb.
Kertasníkir “Candle Stealer”
Kertasníkir “Candle Stealer” is the last Yule Lad to arrive. He likes to follow children around to try and steal their Christmas candles which he then eats.
Personally I find the actual traits of the Yule Lads a bit creepy and think I would be scared as a kid to learn about them. Today though they are portrayed just as silly characters that do funny things around Christmas time and I think the kids just enjoy getting gifts every night, what kid wouldn’t.
Walking around Reykjavík you will see different Yule Lads projected onto buildings, appearing and reappearing as if they are hopping around town hiding out. The bookstores are filled with different Christmas books all about the Yule Lads and their mischievous ways. Seeing the whole city participate in the Yule Lad’s tradition has been so fun, even if I am an adult and don’t get presents in my shoe.
The drawing of the Yule Lads shown in this post were done by Brian Pilkington and are my favorite images of the characters. The poem “Jólasveinavísur” by Jóhannes frá Kötlum is also a fun way to learn more about the Yule Lads and what they get up to each Christmas.
One last bit of Yule Lad fun is this video by CCP Games. CCP Games in case you are a non-gamer like me, is a top ranked Icelandic video game developing company. Anyways they made a video this year to show their idea of what the modern day Yule Lads would be like.
Hope you enjoyed learning about this Icelandic Christmas tradition as much as I did! Happy Friday, hope your weekend is filled with lots of holiday fun.
Question of the Day?
Any fun Christmas legends or stories in your country?
Pingback: Skyr, much more than a yogurt | cooklookfood()