While adults indulge in year-enders and holiday season festivities, Christmas for children is all about looking forward to gifts dropped off by the enchanting Santa Claus. For the rest of the world, there’s only one Santa — who rides his reindeer-driven sleigh around snowy peaks and climbs down chimneys to fill children’s stockings. But in Iceland, there’s not one but 13 of them!
Decoding the folklore
Well, the Icelanders like to call them the Yule Lads. The first mention of these 13 brothers was in 1862, when the author Jón Árnason drew inspiration from the famous Grimms and began collecting folktales. Later, in 1932, Icelandic poet Jóhannes úr Kötlum published the poem ‘Yule Lads’ in the book Christmas is Coming, which set the canon along with their names and personalities.
As far as the Yule Lad lore goes, these 13 brothers were born to a troll named Grýla, but with time, their sinister heritage got watered down and replaced with generous gift-giving and a dash of mischief on the side.
The 13 Yule Lads visit children every night leading up to Christmas:
Stekkjastaur (Sheep-Cote Clod) on 12 December – Sneaks into barns to steal milk from sheep.
Giljagaur (Gully Gawk) on 13 December – He has a taste for cow’s milk and will take it straight from the barn.
Stúfur (Stubby) on 14 December – The shortest of the lads, he swipes leftover food from frying pans.
Þvörusleikir (Spoon Licker) on 15 December – He licks spoons, as his name suggests.
Pottasleikir (Pot Licker) on 16 December – He will steal unwashed pots from the kitchen to lick them clean.
Askasleikir (Bowl Licker) on 17 December – He snatches bowls out from under beds and gobbles up remaining morsels of food.
Hurðaskellir (Door Slammer) on 18 December – He slams doors, and would continue to do it all night if any are left open.
Skyrgámur (Skyr Gobbler) on 19 December – He loves skyr, the traditional Icelandic yoghurt.
To receive the gift, children place a shoe on their windowsill. (Source: Instagram/@iceland.parliament.hotel)
Bjúgnakrækir (Sausage Swiper) on 20 December – Hide your sausages from this guy or else he will eat them.
Gluggagægir (Window Peeper) on 21 December – He peeps through windows to steal.
Gáttaþefur (Door Sniffer) on 22 December – He keeps sniffing doorways on the hunt for baked goods.
Ketrókur (Meat Hook) on 23 December – He’s always hungry for meat.
Kertasníkir (Candle Beggar) on 24 December – Finally, the last of the Yule Lads is known for stealing candles and taking off.
Iceland’s popular folklore says that kids who remain well-behaved all year round get a small gift from each of the Yule Lads, while the naughty kids get a raw or rotten potato. To receive the gift, children place a shoe on their windowsill.
Funnily enough, the Yule Cat, known as Jólakötturinn, is huge, vicious and keeps lurking about the snowy countryside during Christmas, eating people who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve. He is the house pet of Grýla and her sons, the Yule Lads.
DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain.