[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki41\/icelandic-christmas-folklore-wikipedia\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki41\/icelandic-christmas-folklore-wikipedia\/","headline":"Icelandic Christmas folklore – Wikipedia","name":"Icelandic Christmas folklore – Wikipedia","description":"Folklore from Iceland during Christmas Icelandic Christmas folklore depicts mountain-dwelling characters and monsters who come to town during Christmas. 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The stories are directed at children and are used to scare them into good behavior. The folklore includes both mischievous pranksters who leave gifts during the night and monsters who eat disobedient children.The figures are depicted as living together as a family in a cave and include:Gr\u00fdla, a giantess with an appetite for the flesh of mischievous children, whom she cooks in a large pot. Her husband Leppal\u00fa\u00f0i is lazy and mostly stays at home in their cave.The Yule Cat is a huge and vicious cat who lurks about the snowy countryside during Christmas time (Yule) and eats people who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve.The Yule Lads are the sons of Gr\u00fdla and Leppal\u00fa\u00f0i. They are a group of 13 mischievous pranksters who steal from or harass the population and all have descriptive names that convey their favorite way of harassing.[1] They come to town one by one during the last 13 nights before Yule. They leave small gifts in shoes that children have placed on window sills, but if the child has been disobedient they instead leave a rotten potato in the shoe.These Christmas-related folktales first appeared around the 17th century and displayed some variation based on region and age. In modern times these characters have taken on slightly more benevolent roles.[2]History[edit]Origins[edit]The first mention of the Yule Lads can be found in the 17th-century Poem of Gr\u00fdla. Gr\u00fdla had appeared in older tales as a troll but had not been linked to Christmas before. She is described as a hideous being who is the mother of the gigantic Yule Lads, a menace to children.Early on, the number and depiction of the Yule Lads varied greatly depending on location. They were used to frighten children into good behaviour, similar to the bogeyman. The King of Denmark objected to their use as a disciplinary tool.[3]In the late 18th century, a poem mentions 13 of them. In the mid-19th century, author J\u00f3n \u00c1rnason drew inspiration from the Brothers Grimm and began collecting folktales. His 1862 collection is the first mention of the names of the Yule Lads.[3]In 1932, the poem “Yule Lads” was published as a part of the popular poetry book Christmas is Coming (J\u00f3lin koma) by Icelandic poet J\u00f3hannes \u00far K\u00f6tlum. The poem was popular and established what is now considered the canonical 13 Yule Lads, their names, and their personalities.Gr\u00fdla & Leppal\u00fa\u00f0i[edit]  Figures of Gr\u00fdla and her husband Leppal\u00fa\u00f0i on the main street of Akureyri, IcelandGr\u00fdla[a] is a giantess, first mentioned in 13th-century texts such as \u00cdslendinga saga and Sverris saga,[4] but not explicitly connected with Christmas until the 17th century. She is enormous and her appearance is repulsive.The oldest poems about Gr\u00fdla describe her as a parasitic beggar. She walks around asking parents to give her their disobedient children. Her plans can be thwarted by giving her food or chasing her away. Originally, she lived in a small cottage, but in later poems, she appears to have been forced out of town and into a remote cave.Current-day Gr\u00fdla can detect children who are misbehaving year-round. She comes from the mountains during Christmas time to search nearby towns for her meal. She leaves her cave, hunts children, and carries them home in her giant sack. She devours children as her favourite snack. Her favorite dish is a stew of naughty kids, for which she has an insatiable appetite. According to legend, there is never a shortage of food for Gr\u00fdla.According to folklore, Gr\u00fdla has been married three times. Her third husband Leppal\u00fa\u00f0i[b] is said to be living with her in their cave in the Dimmuborgir lava fields, with the big black Yule Cat and their sons. Leppal\u00fa\u00f0i is lazy and mostly stays at home in their cave. Gr\u00fdla supposedly has dozens of children with her previous husbands, but they are rarely mentioned nowadays.Yule Cat[edit]  Yule cat on display in downtown ReykjavikThe Yule Cat, known as J\u00f3lak\u00f6tturinn,[c] a huge and vicious cat who is described as lurking about the snowy countryside during Christmas time and eating people who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve.[5] He is the house pet of Gr\u00fdla and her sons.[6]Though referred to as an ancient tradition, written accounts of the Yule Cat have only been located as recently as the 19th century.[7] The threat of being eaten by the Yule Cat was used by farmers as an incentive for their workers to finish processing the autumn wool before Christmas. The ones who took part in the work would be rewarded with new clothes, but those who did not would get nothing and thus be preyed upon by the monstrous cat.[5] The cat has alternatively been described as merely eating away the food of ones without new clothes during Christmas feasts. The perception of the Yule Cat as a man-eating beast was partly popularized by poems of J\u00f3hannes \u00far K\u00f6tlum as with the rest of the folklore.Yule Lads[edit]  A wooden food bowl, the type Bowl-licker stealsThe Yule Lads[d] (sometimes named Yuletide-lads or Yulemen) are the sons of Gr\u00fdla and Leppal\u00fa\u00f0i. They are a group of 13 mischievous pranksters who steal from or otherwise harass the population. All have descriptive names that generally convey their favourite way of causing mischief.[1] They arrive one by one over the final 13 nights leading up to Christmas (Yule). They leave small gifts in shoes that children place on window sills, but if the child has been disobedient, they leave a rotten potato in the shoe instead.In modern times the Yule Lads have also been depicted in a more benevolent role[2] comparable to Santa Claus and other related figures. They are generally portrayed wearing late-medieval Icelandic clothing, but are sometimes shown in the costume traditionally worn by Santa Claus, especially at children’s events.List of Yule Lads[edit]The Yule Lads arrive over the course of the last 13 nights before Christmas, beginning on 12 December.[8] One then departs each day, beginning on Christmas Day, in the order that they arrived; thus each of them stays for 13 days.[9] Below are the canonical 13 Yule Lads in the order they arrive (and depart):Icelandic nameEnglish translationDescription[10]Arrival[10]DepartureStekkjarstaurSheep-Cote ClodHarasses sheep, but is impaired by his stiff peg-legs.12 December25 DecemberGiljagaurGully GawkHides in gullies, waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the cowshed and steal milk.13 December26 DecemberSt\u00fafurStubbyAbnormally short. Steals pans to eat the crust left on them.14 December27 December\u00dev\u00f6rusleikirSpoon-LickerSteals and licks wooden spoons. Is extremely thin due to malnutrition.15 December28 DecemberPottaskefillPot-ScraperSteals leftovers from pots16 December29 DecemberAskasleikirBowl-LickerHides under beds, waiting for someone to put down their askur (a type of bowl with a lid used instead of dishes), which he then steals.17 December30 DecemberHur\u00f0askellirDoor-SlammerLikes to slam doors, especially during the night, waking people up18 December31 DecemberSkyrg\u00e1murSkyr-GobblerHas a great affinity for skyr (similar to yogurt)19 December1 JanuaryBj\u00fagnakr\u00e6kirSausage-SwiperHides in the rafters and snatches sausages that are being smoked20 December2 JanuaryGluggag\u00e6girWindow-PeeperA snoop who looks through windows in search of things to steal21 December3 JanuaryG\u00e1tta\u00feefurDoorway-SnifferHas an abnormally large nose and an acute sense of smell which he uses to locate leaf bread (laufabrau\u00f0)22 December4 JanuaryKetkr\u00f3kurMeat-HookUses a hook to steal meat23 December5 JanuaryKertasn\u00edkirCandle-StealerFollows children in order to steal their candles (which were once made of tallow and thus edible)24 December6 JanuaryNames in English are based on Hallberg Hallmundsson’s translation of the poem.[11]Obscure Yule Lads[edit]Before these 13 Yule Lads became the most popular, their description varied between locations. Some were said to be sons of Gr\u00fdla; others were her brothers. Some stories only describe nine Yule Lads, but every one of them had their own characteristic prank.Most of the different Yule Lads can be classified into groups: those who steal food, those who like to play tricks or harass, and those who seem to be a delusion from nature (for example, Gully Gawk, who just hides in gullies).[3]In the east of Iceland, there existed a folk tale of a specific group of Yule Lads. They did not come from the mountains but the ocean. One very obscure nursery rhyme mentions two female Yule pranksters who steal melted fat by either stuffing it up their noses or putting it in socks.[3]References[edit]Further reading[edit]"},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki41\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Enzyklop\u00e4die"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki41\/icelandic-christmas-folklore-wikipedia\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Icelandic Christmas folklore – Wikipedia"}}]}]