Icelandic Christmas is a family business. The mother eats children who misbehave. The father does as little as possible. The thirteen sons each commit exactly one household crime, one night at a time, and the cat handles anyone who did not get new clothes. Between December 10 and January 6, every one of them gets a night of their own on this blog. This page is the family album.
Grýla, the mother
A mountain ogress who appears in Icelandic sources as far back as the thirteenth century, tied to Christmas by the seventeenth. She comes down at midwinter to collect children who misbehaved, and her reputation was fearsome enough that a 1746 decree forbade frightening children with her. She is the existential threat the rest of the household orbits. Her night is December 10: Grýla Comes Down the Mountain.
Leppalúði, the father
Grýla’s third husband by most tellings, and by every telling the laziest figure in Icelandic folklore. He stays in the cave. That is the whole legend, and it still earned him a song. In the portrait above he is, of course, asleep. His night is December 11: Leppalúði’s Lament: The Monster Who Does Nothing.
The thirteen sons
The Yule Lads descend one per night, December 12 through 24, each with a single, weirdly specific specialty. Each name below links to that Lad’s night. The links come alive as the nights arrive, one per evening.
| Night | Lad | His crime |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 12 | Sheep-Cote Clod (Stekkjastaur) | Harasses the sheep, on stiff peg legs |
| Dec 13 | Gully Gawk (Giljagaur) | Steals the froth off the milk |
| Dec 14 | Stubby (Stúfur) | Eats the crusts baked onto pans |
| Dec 15 | Spoon-Licker (Þvörusleikir) | Licks the stirring spoon clean |
| Dec 16 | Pot-Scraper (Pottaskefill) | Knocks at the door, then takes the pots |
| Dec 17 | Bowl-Licker (Askasleikir) | Waits under the bed for your bowl |
| Dec 18 | Door-Slammer (Hurðaskellir) | Slams doors while the house sleeps |
| Dec 19 | Skyr-Gobbler (Skyrgámur) | Empties the skyr tub |
| Dec 20 | Sausage-Swiper (Bjúgnakrækir) | Moves into the rafters with the sausages |
| Dec 21 | Window-Peeper (Gluggagægir) | Watches through the glass, on the longest night |
| Dec 22 | Door-Sniffer (Gáttaþefur) | Smells the leaf bread from the doorway |
| Dec 23 | Meat-Hook (Ketkrókur) | Lowers a hook down the chimney for the smoked lamb |
| Dec 24 | Candle-Stealer (Kertasníkir) | Takes the light itself, on Christmas Eve |
The Yule Cat
The pet. The Jólakötturinn prowls on Christmas Eve and eats anyone who received no new clothing, which made it the enforcement arm of Iceland’s autumn wool work: a house where everyone got something new was a house that had finished its work. It shares the final night of the run with the last of the brothers, December 24: Candle-Stealer, and the Cat Is Loose.
Cast your vote
Go deeper
The complete guide to the brothers, the shoe custom, and the rotten potato: The 13 Yule Lads of Iceland.
The full stories of all 23 figures, with sources, in the book: A Folklore Christmas: The Monsters, Witches, and Demons Behind Christmas.
The songs: “Thirteen Nights” for the brothers, “Grýla’s Feast” for their mother, and “The Yule Cat” waiting at the end, all on the companion album.
Listen: the companion album streams everywhere November 1. The link goes live here the day it does.