A visit from the Yule Lads

Who are the Yule Lads? The Yule Lads are thirteen Icelandic trolls that arrive starting December the 11th and come each night one by one until December 23rd. Watch the video for a short description of each one.

Where do they come from?

The Yule Lads are the offspring of Grýla, a fearsome giant ogress known for her hunger for misbehaving children, and her spouse, Leppalúði, an indolent troll who seldom departs from their lava caves in Dimmuborgir, North Iceland.

Gryla is a dreadful troll who, together with her enormous cat Jólakötturinn (the Yule Cat), roams the countryside in search of naughty children to devour. The Yule Cat targets children who haven't received new clothes for Christmas... It seems that if someone doesn't get new clothes, it implies they are not loved and won't be missed.

Grýla, the mother of the Yule Lads

Leppalúði the father of the Yule Lads is a detestable drunkard, so indolent that he doesn't even assist with gathering firewood. He lounges around the cave, grumbling about his hunger. It is Grýla who holds all the power in the family.

The Yule Lads in Icelandic Holiday Celebrations

Every December, they arrive individually, bringing chaos and mischief to your holiday festivities. In the past, they were even more malevolent and frightening, to the extent that Iceland's parliament prohibited parents from sharing these tales.

However, today, Icelanders consider them as playful Santa Clauses who visit each night until Christmas. Can you picture having thirteen Santa Clauses? Thirteen nights of Christmas Eve? These days, the Yule Lads are far more amiable and play a key role in Iceland's Christmas countdown, placing small gifts in shoes on windowsills on each of the thirteen nights before Christmas Day.

Yule Lads in American Culture.

Hardly any Americans are familiar with the Yule Lads, but in Timothy Paul Spradlin's book, The Saga of the Yule Lads, he portrays them as misbehaving holiday guests, and the book serves as a guide to identifying visitors with poor conduct.

In the book "The Saga of the Yule Lads," he highlights the guest who is the spoon-licker, the one who double dips the chips, or the door-slammer, as the individual who consistently stirs up trouble at holiday gatherings.

We can tolerate certain guests, such as Stubby, who eats until he's uncomfortable, or Skyr-Gobbler, who hoards the Christmas desserts (like many of us). The book "The Saga of the Yule Lads: An American Adaptation" helps us decide which guests can remain and which should leave.

So, get the book and you will know, who can stay and who should go.

Keep the Yuletide embers burning and have a Merry Christmas.