Did you know that Santa doesn’t exist in Iceland? Iceland’s thirteen “yule lads” (brothers) take turns coming down to villages from their cave home high in the hills starting on December 12th through December 24th, the Icelandic day to celebrate Christmas. Then, the lads return one at a time back their highland residence with the last arriving on January 6th. These trickster troll characters are named for their special talent or food that they like. (Sausage Swiper, Window Peeper, Door Sniffer) With all the food and celebrations it is the perfect time for the Yule Lads to swipe meat and cakes, create havoc and play tricks on the villagers. Icelandic youngsters leave a shoe by the windowsill and specific treats for each of the thirteen night visitors. If a child has been good, he/she will receive treats and presents. A potato is left for naughty kids. These thirteen Yule Lads custom has transformed over the years. Learning about this tradition and the changes that have taken place has been fascinating.

In my twenty-seven years of teaching first and second grade, I have taught a unit, “Christmas Around the world.” I wanted to show my students how some of our traditions in the United States came from immigrants. Germans brought the custom of a Christmas tree, gingerbread houses and wooden toys. In Italy they eat Pantonne, a fruit bread baked in a flower pot. In Mexico the story of the Fleur De Navidad, the poinsettia, is shared. They have a nine day celebration called Las Posadas. In Holland Sinterklaas rides a white horse on December 5th. Children leave their shoes on their windowsill with carrots for Sinterklass’ horse in hopes of receiving trinkets and candy. Sinterklaas is accompanied by Zwarte Piet, Black Peter, who comes from Spain, covered in soot to help SinterKlass. Zwarte Piet scolds and hits naughty children giving them coal instead of gifts. I thought Zwarte Piet was a bit on the cruel side and negative for the holiday season.

I had NEVER known about the Icelandic Yule Lads until a few years ago, from my husband who has Icelandic roots. (He is a second cousin to Leif Erikson.) I was surprised by the evil, scary origins of these troll creatures, capturing naughty children for their mother to boil and eat. They made Zwarte Piet seem tame.

The original Icelandic Yule Lads’ stories worked life from a dark angle, building a sense of fear into children. Stekkjastaur, the Sheep Cote Clod yule lad, was said to have kidnapped a boy who had caught the mischievous yule lad stealing sheep milk. Yule lads were NEVER to be seen by humans. So, Stekkjastaur locked the boy in the troll’s dungeon cave, where he died and was eaten by Gryla, the lads’ mother. Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time. As a child I would have held tightly to my “KeeKee” (blanket) after hearing this story.

Yule lads were created as signs of a humans’ dark-sided nature which consumes people during the winter season. Reykjavik, the capital city, receives only four hours of sunlight on the winter solstice. In Northern Iceland the hazy sun is visible for only two hours on December 21st. Many believe that these troll tales were created to remind Icelanders to be conservative and cautious with food rations during the long frozen months as well as to manipulate children into good behavior.

Grýla, the mother of the thirteen lads, is one of the oldest mythical characters in Icelandic folklore. She is said to snatch and boil naughty children, creating a delicious stew for herself and her boys. Children are told that she NEVER goes hungry during the Christmas season. She was mentioned in 13th century manuscripts and over time has represented the fear of hunger for Icelanders. She HAD two husbands, Gustur and Boli, both of which she’d murdered and consumed. Now she’s often portrayed beating her current husband, a lazy troll named Leppalúði, the father of the yule lads.

Jólakötturinn, the Christmas Cat, is Gryla’s pet. Jólakötturinn is enormous and prowls on December 24th eating children who didn’t get new clothes for Christmas. Many believe this encourages parents to complete their weaving and sewing by the holiday. Children are appreciative of their gifts of clothing. They wear their outdoor clothing with pride. This could explain why Icelanders are impeccably dressed for the winter weather.

These horror stories of the Yule Lads, Gryla and Jolakotturinn were banned by religious leaders in 1746. Parents were no longer allowed to discipline their children with these fearful legends. However, late at night with hushed tones, Icelanders continued to share these terrible tales with their youngsters. After all, the parents had visualized these creatures when their parents had tucked them in bed long ago.

In the 1860’s, there were as many as 82 evil characters featured in these relics. Across Iceland there were numerous differences in the personality, names and the number of evil-doing Yule Lads. Thus began a transformation of this tradition. Icelanders didn’t want to give up these tales, but had to act within the church guidelines. As a result in the late 1860’s the Yule Lad population was condensed to 13 in order to correspond with the 13 days of Christmas. The characteristics of each troll became more standardized.

In the 19th century merchants began hosting public Christmas gatherings. Old friendly men dressed as Yule Lads passed out sweets. In the 1930’s Yule Lads began visiting schools and making appearances in person and on the radio sharing Christmas stories and leading sing-a-longs. This brought their transformation full circle. Once upon a time the Lads were monsters stealing and eating children. Now the they are mischievous, sneaky gift-givers.

On December 12th, Stekkjastaur (Stek ja’ stir), the Sheep Cote Clod, is the first lad to descend from the cave. He’s the oldest and has stiff legs. You can hear him coming if you listen carefully. He is in pursuit of sheep’s milk. Leave him cookies and milk next to your shoes which are to be placed on the windowsill. If you’re a good person he’ll leave you a woolen gifts. Leppar is a soft wool lining for one’s shoes or he may make an animal toy from wool. If not, he will leave a potato.

Giljagaur (Gil ya Gur), Gully Gawk, is the biggest and the strongest of the brothers. Yet, he is shy. He prefers meat and sweets to be left by your shoes on the windowsill. He will leave you a toy fashioned from straw: doll, pony, star. If you don’t leave him goodies, he’ll put a potato in your shoe and sneak off to the barn for cow’s milk.

Stufur (Stew fur), Stubby, is the shortest of the brothers. Many people leave a ladder outside their window to help him climb inside. He hides in the corner of the kitchen and keeps his beard tied in a knot so it doesn’t get in his way when he munches on the crusted parts of a pan. He likes Christmas cake, pepper cookies and cream filled Bollur. His favorite treat is skyr, an Icelandic yogurt. Skyr has become more popular in the United States. You may be able to purchase skyr at your local grocer. Stufur will often leave a puffin feather pen as a gift. Puffins are birds that resemble penguins and live in Iceland.

Pvorusleikir (Thur-a slaker), spoon licker, used to suck his thumb. Now he finds that spoons can curb his cravings. He is the skinniest as he doesn’t get very much food from just licking spoons. His shifty eyes are on a constant look out for a spoon to swipe. He wishes that sticky and gritty spoons will be left for his treat. Pvorusleikir leaves little toys carved from the wooden spoons he’d stolen.

Pottasleikilr (Pot-a skae fill) , pot scraper, wants you to leave cookies and milk for his evening treat unless your pots haven’t been washed yet. He often leaves candles which causes children to wonder, “Who left these gifts?” He is known for hiding bowls and pots. These Yule Lads like to play pranks and divert your attention so they can steal their most liked food.

Askasleikir (Aska slaker), bowl licker, is known as the worst troll. He will often hide under your bed. He doesn’t like doing as he was told. Licking out the pet bowls are a main attraction. His gift giving matches his poor manners. He’d leave sticks and bits of yarn in the children’s shoes so they can play with their pets. He enjoys both cookies and skyr.

Huroaskellir (Hurtha Sketler), the door slammer, is a miserable, mean troll. He enjoys his pranks of swinging doors back and forth. “Creeeeaaaak” “Eeeeeew” “eeeerrr” Each door has a different sound. “Wham!” He finishes the squeak with a SLAM of the door. He sneaks in and out of houses causing a ruckus. He is happiest when people are grumpy. Cheese and meat would be his favorite late night treat. Huroaskellir will leave carved wooden whistles in youngsters’ shoes.

Skyrgamur (skeyr-gow mur), the skyr gobbler gulps down skyr, an Icelandic yogurt. He is easily confused and is known for leaving tricky presents. In one story he leaves carved pencils but they don’t have a lead. He is known for not being very bright. Can you guess what he’d like to have set out as his goody?

Bjugnakraekir (buke naw cry gear), the sausage swiper, craves smoked meat. Hanging smoked meat has been a tradition in Iceland for centuries. Bjugnakraekir seeks these snacks in your shed if you don’t leave some by the window for him. Bjugnakraekir will often “fix” his skyr loving brother’s gift to make it useful.

Gluggagaegir (glugga-guy year), the window peeper, carries candles for a better look-see since he has poor eyesight. Pancakes and milk are his treasured treat.

Gattapefur (gotta thever), the door sniffer, has an exquisite set of nostrils. He can find the freshest baking from across the village. His keen sense of smell will locate any dirt or odorous clothing, so be sure everything is clean when he comes on the 22nd. He wishes for cookies and laufabraud. This “leaf bread” is thin, delicate crisps with ornamentation on the cracker-type bread. (See the photo below) He is known to leave a handkerchief as his gift so every time the youngster has a cold he or she would think of Door Sniffer’s oversized nose.

Ketkrokur (ket croaker), meat hook, is the smallest brother. Consequently his mother nourished him with meat during his formative years. He still craves this protein and uses a hook down a chimney to retrieve pieces of smoked lamb and beef. It is Saint Thorlak’s Day where Icelanders enjoy fermented shark, another meat he craves. Although, most people can hardly tolerate the aroma of the delicacy. Ketkrokur leaves statues of St. Thorak carved from bones in the shoes by the windowsill. Can you guess what food he’d like you to leave next to your shoes?

Kertasnikir (keta sneaker), the candle beggar, used to eat candles when he was small. Candles had been made of edible animal fat, so he found these delicious. If you leave him cookies, he’ll leave your candles alone. He will sometimes write notes and leave them in the young one’s shoes.

The original Yule Lads, Gryla and Jólakötturinn were enough to give this 51 year old nightmares. I can’t imagine being an Icelandic child in the early 1600’s. However, knowing Chuck and our kids, Charlotte and Noah, I am reminded that their brassy DNA can conquer any difficulties thrown in their direction. Icelanders constantly demonstrate resilience and don’t show intimidation. Just looking at Iceland’s winter weather and lack of sunlight as an example of Icelandic grit and tenacity. My three favorite people exhibit these qualities daily. As a senior in high school Noah is pushing himself to take advanced placement courses and author his own books. Charlotte is embracing her career with a variety of daily “puzzles” as a laboratory scientist after overcoming epilepsy. Chuck is conquering his fear of flying by earning his pilot’s licence. Many of you know that Chuck embraces the risk and thrill of his excursions, too. (Arctic, Kayaking through the Soo Locks, winter camping) Chuck and our children could have handled the original legends of the lads easily.

This Irish/French/ German/Polish gal (a mutt, I suppose) is learning to embrace the Icelandic culture. Although I shake my head in bewilderment at these creatures and their transformation over the years, I felt the need to build these stories into our Hayden Household. So in my simplistic crafty way, I created fifty ornaments showcasing the Yule Lads and Viking shields. Our Christmas tree is decked with these legendary trolls complete with Bjugnakraekir, the Sausage Swiper, at the top. Another memorable custom is our kids have splashed a hand print on our tree skirt each year. Jólakötturinn, the Icelandic tradition of ‘flooding’ one with books at Christmas is underway as well. I hope you find joy in your old and new customs and traditions this holiday season.

Gledileg Jol ! – Merry Christmas !