The Northern European country of Iceland celebrates the festival of Christmas in almost the same way as it is celebrated in other countries. However Iceland also has certain unique Christmas traditions which are not be found elsewhere for instance the Icelandic term for Christmas is Jól, which has no reference to Christ or Christianity rather it is an Old Norse word which also translates as Yule in Old English. Christianity spread to Iceland only about 1000 years ago until then the people of Iceland and those of other countries in Northern Europe used to only celebrate the winter solstice which marked the beginning of the long winter nights and shorter hours of daylight. The festivities to mark the winter solstice were usually quite grand and involved much eating drinking and merrymaking. After the advent of Christianity in Iceland the celebrations to mark the winter solstice have got intermingled with the celebration of the birth of Christ.
Today Icelanders celebrate Christmas on the evening of December 24th keeping in line with the Old Catholic custom when people would have a wake the night before the big Church holidays So for Icelanders thus Christmas officially begins at 6pm on the 24th of December and continues until the 6th of January which is the day when all Christmas decorations are removed from the streets and homes.
The celebration of Christmas in Iceland also features a unique and typically Icelandic feature which is the appearance of the 13 Yuletide lads from December 12th onwards. These Yuletide lads are the descendants of trolls and are in no way related to the jolly old man known the world over as Santa Claus. These trolls were originally bogeymen who first appeared on the Icelandic Christmas scene in the eighteenth century. Initially they used to terrify children with their pranks though in recent times they seem have mellowed down but they still like to pilfer and play tricks on little children. Moreover when these trolls who are known as “jólasveinar” first appeared they used to be dressed in ragged clothing but nowadays they are usually attired in red suits and black boots.
The actual number of these Yuletide lads also differed from region to region in Iceland but today is widely agreed that there are 13 Yuletide lads who are the sons of trolls called Grýla and Leppalúði and the entire family lives in the mountain along with their pet, the Christmas Cat until they get ready to come to town one by one 13 days before Christmas.
The first yuletide lad generally appears on the 12th of December and the 13th lad on the 24th of December. Nowadays instead of playing tricks and pilfering goodies these Yuletide lads hand out small Christmas gifts to children and in anticipation of these gifts Iceland’s children start putting out their best shoes on their window sills from the 12th of December onwards. The Yuletide lads know the children who have been good and those who have been naughty all year round and reward children accordingly.
Stekkjastaur ( he Sheepfold Stick) is the first of the Yuletide lads who arrives on the 12th of December. He loves milk and tries to drink milk from the farmer’s cows. The next day it is the turn of Giljagaur (the Gully Oaf), who has a fondness for the froth of the milk. He is then followed by Stúfur (Shorty) who traditionally scrapes food off pans. Stúfur is promptly followed by Þvörusleikir (the Spoon-licker) who enjoys stealing wooden spoons that are used for stirring the dishes. Pottasleikir (the Pot-licker) comes in on December 16th and he tries to snatch the unwashed pots and attempts to lick them.
Soon after on December 17th it is the turn of Askasleikir (the bowl-licker) who looks for bowls to lick clean. Hurðaskellir (the door-slammer), Skyrgámur ( the curd Glutton), Bjúgnakrækir ( the sausage pilferer) then follow on subsequent as do Gluggagægir ( the peeper) who steals toys and Gáttaþefur (the sniffer) who loves the smell of the biscuits that are baked for Christmas. Ketkrókur ( the meat hook) appears on December 23rd which is also Þorláksmessa (St. Þorlákur’s Day ) the most important shopping day of the season . The last Yuletide lad to appear is Kertasníkir (the candle beggar) who emerges on Christmas Eve. This lad was called Kertasníkir as he begged for candles which were considered precious in Iceland which experienced long hours of darkness during its cold winters. The day after Christmas the first of the Yuletide lads returns home and in this manner they continue to return back to the mountains day after day until the last day of the Christmas season which is the 6th of January.
These Yuletide lads appear at Christmas dances where they dance around the Christmas tree with children and sing Christmas carols. They also give the children goody bags before they leave. Another immensely popular spot to follow the appearance of these Yuletide Lads is at the National Museum of Iceland which is turned into a Christmas World in early November to highlight the appearances of the Yuletide lads. The National Museum is located in Stokkseyri, which is accessible by a one hour drive from Iceland’s capital city Reykjavik. If you plan to visit Reykjavik to experience a truly Icelandic Christmas which features the appearance of these thirteen Santas do check out the attractive rates currently being offered by the city’s top hotels like the Borg Hotel and the Bjork Hotel both of which are located in heart of the city center for the festive season.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 17th, 2008 at 12:01 am and is filed under Europe, Fun. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
December 30th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Thank you for a wonderful article! I live so close (well, close-ish) and as it turns out, know very little about this wonderful country and it’s Christmas traditions. Thanks for opening my eyes, I love learning new things.
June 26th, 2009 at 6:53 am
Nice Article, Iceland is a wonderful country and have unique Christmas traditions.