How is Christmas celebrated in Iceland? Their Christmas tradition definitely inspires literacy. If you couldn’t read, you wouldn’t enjoy it very much though. Part of Jolabokaflod—I’m not sure of the exact translation of this word, but I like to think it means “book flood”—is the giving of books on Christmas Eve. After the exchange of books, the evening is spent reading books and drinking cocoa or another beverage of your choice.
Reading is one of my favorite things to do, so I would love for this to be part of the Christmas celebration here in the U.S. Not only would it inspire more reading, but it would also be rather enjoyable.
The Yule Cat & The Thirteen Yule Lads
If you ever needed an excuse to go shopping and buy some new clothes, this is definitely one. In Iceland at Christmas, a giant black cat, Jólakötturinn, The Yule Cat, roams the countryside and devours anyone who isn’t wearing new clothing. How can this cat tell if your clothing isn’t new? Do you need to leave the tags on it? What if it is homemade? Maybe it’s a good thing this is only a legend which is said to have been started by farmers to frighten their workers into completing their work by Christmas. But how would that scare them into finishing their work by Christmas? Maybe so they would have time to go shopping for new clothes?
As if a giant black cat who eats you if you don’t have on new clothes isn’t enough to disturb your dreams, Icelandic traditions also have The Yule Lads, a weird version of Santa’s elves. From December 12 – 24, these Yule lads ^1 visit homes, a different one each night. Children leave their shoes on the windowsill. If they were good, candy is left in them; if not, the shoes are filled with rotting potatoes.
The parents of these Yule Lads were Grýla and Leppala, cannibal trolls who also owned Jólakötturinn, the black Christmas cat. Since they preyed mostly on children, those who were naughty were scared by tales of these cannibalistic trolls. What are the names of these Yule Lads and what do they do? How would you like to be visited by one or more of these lads?
Sheep-Cote Clod tries to nurse the ewes in farmer’s sheep sheds while Gully Gawk steals foam from atop buckets of cow milk.
Stubby is short and steals food from any frying pan he can get his hands on, so be sure and hide all the stools and chairs. Spoon Licker does just what his name says: he licks spoons.
Pot Scraper, otherwise known as Pot Licker, steals unwashed pots and licks them clean. He is definitely an encouragement to do the dishes.
Bowl Licker steals bowls of food from under the bed. I want to know who would leave a bowl of food underneath the bed.
Door Slammer stomps around and slams doors, keeping everyone awake. I know if he did that in this house, he would be made to stop by my dogs as well as the rest of us.
Skyr Gobbler eats up all the Icelandic yoghurt[^2]. Now I don’t have any Icelandic yoghurt, but I do have some really good American yogurt.
Sausage Swiper loves to steal all your sausages and eat them.
Window Peeper likes to creep outside windows. If he see something inside that he likes, he will steal it. My dogs let me know whenever anyone, friendly or not, is on my property, so Window Peeper wouldn’t even be able to get close to my windows.
Door Sniffer has a huge nose. All the better to smell yummy things with. Maybe that is why he has an insatiable appetite for baked goods, which he steals.
Meat Hook snatches up any meat left out, especially smoked lamb. Since we don’t normally eat lamb, he wouldn’t have any luck at my house.
Candle Beggar steals candles, which used to be sought-after items in Iceland. Now this lad would have a blast at my house if he could get past my dogs. We have a wide variety of scented candles.
In 1746, parents were banned from telling their children scary stories about the Yule Lads, so today they are mostly known for playing harmless tricks.
[^2]: In most English-speaking countries, the term “yogurt” is used to refer to the delicious fermented dairy product, while “yoghurt” is primarily used in the UK and other Commonwealth countries. But, the spelling “yoghurt” with an H is becoming increasingly common in the US as well.
https://grammarist.com/spelling/yogurt-yoghurt/
