WORKSHOP ON GEOTHERMAL ENERGY: ICELANDIC - BRITISH COOPERATION The Icelandic Energy System
Icelandic Christmas
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Transcript of Icelandic Christmas
Iceland´s Christmas:The Yule Lads
Gryla
She´s mother to the Yule Lads.
She´s a giant troll, an enormous ogress who eats
naughty, lazy and rude children.
The Yule Lads
They wear shabby farm clothes and beards.
Children leave their shoes on the windows and the Yule Lads leave small
gifts.
The Sheep Worrier
He comes on 12th December.
He steals milk from the fridge and leaves a small toy, piece of fruit, little
sweet on children´s shoes.
Gully Gawk
He comes on 13th December. He walks through the ravines or gullies stealing milk containers
from farmers.
He leaves a small present.
Children who are naughty receive a potatoe.
Stubby
He comes on 14th December.
He´s got short legs and likes hiding. He gives little presents and he hangs around the kitchen scraping what he
can of pans that haven´t been washed.
15th December: Spoon Licker
He hangs around dark kitchens waiting for
spoons to lick, so people don´t wash up their
spoons on 15th December to do him a favour.
16th December: Pot Licker
He waits for Icelanders who don´t do the washing up and licks left overs off the sides and bottoms of
pans.
17th December: Bowl Licker
He likes licking an “askur” or traditional wooden
bowl, he also licks dishes that haven´t been washed
up.
18th December: Door Slammer
He´s very noisy, he likes to creep under cover of
darkness, as quiet as a mouse and then bang a door as loudly as he can
just for fun, specially in the middle of the night.
19th December: Skyr Glutton
Skyr is a dairy product similar to yogurt.
Skyr Glutton will stuff himself with skyr.
20th December: Saussage Stealer
He loves large saussages and hot dogs too.
21st December: Window Peeper
He loiters around windows peeping in when nobody is about.If a child catches him looking in, he pulls funny faces to make
himself look scary.
22nd December: Door Sniffer
He loves smelling “leaf bread “ being cooked
before Christmas.
He steals cakes and biscuits from the kitchen.
23rd December:Meat Hook
He is carnivorous, he likes any sort of meat.
He uses a hook to get smoked leg of lamb through the chimney.
24th December:Candle Beggar
Before the advent of electricity, children used candles to brighten up the darkness in celebration of
Christmas, but Candle Beggar would devoured any he could lay
on his hands.
The Yule Cat
Poor Icelandic children have to bear the Yule Cat as well! On Christmas Eve, it
peers through the window
Instead of hunting mice, it preys upon children, choosing the ones who haven´t recently given something new to wear.
It´s got yellowy-green eyes glowing in the dark, sharp teeth and claws.
Merry Christmas!
¡Feliz Navidad!
Bibliography:
BY BRIAN PILKINGTON
THE YULE LADS, A CELEBRATION OF ICELANDIC FOLKLORE