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The Mischievous Thirteen In most countries, one Yule lad or Santa Claus is considered quite enough. Iceland, of course, had go overboard. We have no less than thirteen Yule Lads and they have not always been very pleasant, either. ARE THEY NAUGHTY OR NICE? The first record of our Yule Lads dates back to the 17th century, and it is believed that they came about as a means to scare children. They varied in number at that time and there seem to have been either nine or thirteen of them to begin with. Since the middle of the 19th century, the number thirteen has been constant. The thirteen days of Christmas probably have something to do with that. The Yule Lads live in the mountains along with their parents, Grýla and Leppalúði, two troll-like, baby-eating figures who always get us into the holiday spirit. There they are accompanied by the murderous Christmas Cat, who sinks his claws and teeth into anyone who does not get new clothes before the clock strikes 6.00am on Christmas Eve. Charming, right?
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AND THEY BRING PRESENTS, TOO.
THE NAMES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES
The Yule Lads arrive one by one and leave one by one. The first one arrives during the night before December 12th and the last on the night before December 24th. Then they start heading for their mountain homes again in the same order, so the last one leaves on January 6th, the last day of Christmas. As opposed to what happens in America, where Santa Claus brings presents on the night before Christmas, the Icelandic Yule Lads bring trinkets during the nights of their arrival, and place them in the shoes of children who have been behaving in a manner acceptable to the grown up population. Their shoes must be conveniently placed on the windowsills in their rooms in order for the Yule Lads to reach them through the window. Now, you may be wondering if it is a good idea to have children think that it is normal for bearded hobos to be looking into their rooms while they sleep. Believe you me, I know children who have lost sleep from sheer terror of this charming tradition. But the hope of finding a small toy or a bag of sweets in their shoe when they wake up, usually overrides the fear of the Peeping Toms in red.
Speaking of Peeping Toms, the names of our Yule Lads are quite special. They changed quite often in the old days and varied between regions, but they have remained relatively the same since 1932. The names are very descriptive and refer to their individual mischievous nature. For instance, Þvörusleikir translates as Spoon-licker; Hurðaskellir means Doorslammer; Gáttaþefur is Doorway-Sniffer in English, and we also have, and this is no joke, Gluggagægir, which translates as Window-peeper. So we do, in fact, have our own Peeping Tom, who arrives a few days before Christmas, dressed in red. BUT THEY CAN ALSO BE NICE Today, the boys in red have mellowed. When they arrive at Christmas-dances with bags on their shoulders they do not in any way attempt to harm, hurt or scare children. They are still loud and very forward but for the most part they have become a bunch of singing and dancing old teenagers who make everybody very happy. For the most part.
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