This document describes Icelandic Christmas traditions centered around the Yule Lads and the giant troll mother Gryla. It discusses each of the 13 mischievous Yule Lad brothers who arrive in the days leading up to Christmas, including what day they come, their antics like stealing food or slamming doors, and the small gifts they leave for children. It also mentions the Yule Cat that hunts children who have not received new clothes for Christmas and the role of Gryla as the mother of the Yule Lads.

1. Iceland´s Christmas:
The Yule Lads

2. Gryla
She´s mother to the Yule
Lads.
She´s a giant troll, an
enormous ogress who eats
naughty, lazy and rude
children.

3. The Yule Lads
They wear shabby farm
clothes and beards.
Children leave their shoes
on the windows and the
Yule Lads leave small
gifts.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 17th December:
Bowl Licker
He likes licking an “askur”
or traditional wooden
bowl, he also licks dishes
that haven´t been washed
up.

10. 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.

11. 19th December:
Skyr Glutton
Skyr is a dairy product
similar to yogurt.
Skyr Glutton will stuff
himself with skyr.

12. 20th December:
Saussage Stealer
He loves large saussages
and hot dogs too.

13. 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.

14. 22nd December:
Door Sniffer
He loves smelling “leaf
bread “ being cooked
before Christmas.
He steals cakes and
biscuits from the kitchen.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. Merry
Christmas!
¡Feliz
Navidad!

19. Bibliography:
THE YULE LADS, A CELEBRATION OF ICELANDIC FOLKLORE
BY BRIAN PILKINGTON