The Yule Lads: Iceland’s Thirteen Mischievous Santa Clauses

By Linda Speckhals | November 25, 2022

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Folklore figures of Grýla and Leppalúði on the main street of Akureyri, Iceland. Source: (David Stanley/WikiCommons).

Before Christianity, the midwinter holiday was simply called jól, which is a version of the Old English word Yule, a time to gather and feast. It was a time to bring relatives, both living and deceased, together as well as elves, trolls, and other mystical beings, or hidden folk believed to inhabit the landscape. Around 1000 AD, the King of Norway decreed that Christianity should be the official religion of the kingdom, and sent missionaries to convert the Icelanders. This did not, however, wipe out the extant Icelandic traditions; it simply changed them to fit with Christianity.

The Hidden People

In Iceland, the Huldufólk, or hidden people, were beings that lived in another dimension, one that was very close to ours. With the advent of Christianity, the belief in the hidden folk was adapted and one of the current theories is that the hidden folk are Eve’s strange children who she hid from God, while another is that they are fallen angels. Icelanders still take the hidden folk seriously, and there are accounts of interactions with these beings. According to some figures, 54% of Icelanders believe the hidden folk are real rather than just a myth.

The Ogre That Eats Children 

One of those “strange children” is Grýla, an ogre whose name translates loosely to Growler. Some see her as a personification of the threat of winter and the never-ending turbulence of the Icelandic landscape. According to the stories, Grýla descends from the mountains on Christmas to boil naughty children alive and eat them. She and her husband Leppalúði, a lazy ogre who eats what she cooks, steal the Christmas food as well. Their thieving companion, the Yule Cat accompanies them, eating anyone who is not wearing at least one new item of clothing. Grýla is also the mother of the Yule Lads, 13 of the hidden folk whose names are derived from their specific type of mischief.  

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The Yule Cat. Source: (Bored Panda).

A Different Yule Lad Visits Each Night

The Yule Lads are said to visit children in Iceland on each of the 13 nights leading to Christmas. Each night, the children leave a shoe on the windowsill. If the child is good, they find the shoe filled with candy and toys. If they are bad, they receive a raw or rotting potato. In return, they are supposed to leave treats that correspond to the yule lad’s personality. The first of the Yule Lads, Stekkjastaur, Sheep Worrier, arrives the night before December 12th. He is known to have two wooden feet, and he sucks the milk from sheep, and children are supposed to leave milk for him. He is followed by Giljagaur or Gully Gawk who hides in barns and steals the froth from milk buckets. For Pvoruskleikir, or Spoon Licker, they should leave spoons covered in batter. They are supposed to leave candles for Kertasnikir, or Candle Beggar, who supposedly eats the candles, which were traditionally made from tallow and essential for the long, cold, dark Icelandic winter nights.