The people of northern Iceland have had record snowfall this December. Roads have been shut, flights cancelled, and school suspended. But children of this isolated North Atlantic nation worry more how the waist-high snow might affect the arrival of the Yule Lads.
According to Icelandic folklore, 13 mischievous troll brothers called the Yule Lads come down from their mountain cave 13 days before Christmas. They’ve entertained, gifted—and also frightened—Icelandic children for hundreds of years. The peg-leg Stekkjastaur, the Icelandic Santa, is just one of them.
Of course, none of these imaginative characters have anything to do with the real meaning of Christmas. Some holiday customs—trees, yule logs, holly—have loose connections to early Christian traditions. Others do not. Christ-followers know that December 25 has significance only in its association with Jesus’ coming to Earth as a baby somewhere near that day. The true good news of great joy is this: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)
The Yule Lads have names like Door-Slammer and Candle-Stealer—reflecting their pranks. But they claim to be mostly reformed, if not hygienic. (They bathe only once a year!)
Every year in Myvatn, Iceland, actors dress up in 19th-century costumes and arrive at a lagoon heated with water from hot springs. Their arrival marks the countdown to December 24, when Icelanders celebrate Christmas.
University of Iceland professor Terry Gunnell calls Icelandic Christmas “a dark time when days pass with only few hours of sunlight.” But for the 13 days leading to Christmas, Icelandic children enjoy favors from the Icelandic Santas as they descend from the mountains one by one, with presents for good children—or rotten potatoes for, well, you know who.
(“Candle-Stealer,” one of Iceland's 13 Yule Lads, addresses guests at the geothermal nature lagoon by Lake Myvatn. AP Photo)
