Yule Lads

Thanks Marcia.

By the way I just cut and paste this.

Yule Lads

The Yule Lads first appeared in the 17th century as the sons of Grylaand Leppalud, who themselves appeared in the 13th century and hadearned a reputation of being a couple of bloodthirsty ogres whostole and ate naughty children.

The dominant member in the relationshipis Gryla, who according to some sources had another husband before Leppalud. His name was Boli. Boli, and later Leppalud, were bedriddenand Gryla went around the countryside, begging to support her husbands, and at Christmas time, she stole children that had been naughty during the year. Through the centuries Gryla has been a very popular means of making children behave. There are numerous stories about Gryla and herexploits, but she really never gets her hands on any children; eitherthey have been very well behaved throughout the year, or they manageto escape.

The Yule lads start arriving in town on the morning of December12th. Remember to place a shoe on your virtual windowsill before that,as they will leave a small gift for children who have been good, as mall toy or fruit, for example, and those children who have been naughty will receive something they will not like too much.The Yule Lads were tallied at either nine or thirteen.

Thirteen of the most commonly accepted names of the Jólasveinar are:

Stekkjarstaur - Gimpy

Giljagaur - Gully Gawk

Stúfur - Shorty

Þvörusleikir - Ladle Licker

Pottasleikir - Pot Scraper

Askasleikir - Bowl Licker

Hurðaskellir - Door Slammer

Skyrgámur - Skyr Gobbler (Skyr is an Icelandic yogurt)
Gluggagægir - Window Peeper

Gáttaþefur - Doorway Sniffer

Ketkrókur - Meat Hook

Kertasníkir - Candle Beggar

As can be seen from the names, the Yule Lads are thought of asplayful imps whose main interest seems to be getting their hands onsome of the seasonal food and other goodies, or lurking about tryingto do some minor mischief.

When they first appeared the Yule Lads had many of the attributes of their parents but soon started to seem milder.

In the last century they gained some of the attributes of their Nordic counterparts, and in this century have become homegrown versions of St. Nick or Santa Clauses.The Yule Lads live in the mountains and start to arrive in town,one a day, thirteen days before Christmas Eve with the last one arriving that morning. They leave little presents for the children in shoes the children have placed on the windowsill the night before. If the children have been naughty, they leave a potato or some other reminder that good behaviour is better. They start departing for home again on Christmas Day, with the last one departing on Jan. 6th, the13th day of Christmas.