bits and pieces from the northern island.
Hurðaskellir (Door Slammer) is a peculiar Yule Lad and much more of a prankster than most of his brothers. He doesn’t care much for food, but he’s got the obsessive addiction of door-slamming. No door is safe when this crazy rascal is around. The louder the noise, the better – and just to be sure, … Read the full article →
Askasleikir (Bowl Licker) is the 6th in the Yule Lads gang to visit during the Christmas period. He arrives on the 17th of December. I don’t want to make it sound like I am partial — because in fact I am not — but I think Askasleikir is very sly. At least, more than the … Read the full article →
Has your mother ever told you not to lick plates after eating? In the case of Pottasleikir (Pot Licker), perhaps Grýla has never objected to this impolite behavior — by the way, did you know it was her to cause the volcano eruption earlier this year? Pot Scraper, the fifth one, was a funny sort … Read the full article →
On the 15th day of December it’s Þvörusleikir’s (Spoon Licker) turn to come down from the mountains. The fourth was Spoon Licker: like spindle he was thin. He felt himself in clover when the cook wasn’t in. Then stepping up, he grappled the stirring spoon with glee, holding it with both hands for it was … Read the full article →
Not differently from his brothers, Stúfur (Stubby) has a passion for food. His short legs don’t prevent him to embark in his yearly journey. He makes his appearance on the 14th of December. Stubby was the third called, a stunted little man, who watched for every chance to whisk off a pan. And scurrying away … Read the full article →
The second of the Yule Lads gang to arrive on the 13th of December is Giljagaur (Gully Gawk). Forget about ninjas: it’s Giljagaur the ultimate specialist of stealth action, and it’s just because he’s not as marketable as his Japanese colleagues that he is not more known and that there are no action flicks made … Read the full article →
Ogress Grýla had a bad temperament that also clearly showed in her demeanor. But no one could blame her for it. Try to guess just how aggravatingly stressful her situation must have been: two failed marriages, a third relationship with a slothful guy and stuck with a bunch of good-for-nothing males she had to support … Read the full article →
A certain ogress named Grýla lived in the mountains of Iceland with her third husband, a lazy troll going by the name of Leppalúði, her fiendish cat and a gang of thirteen mischievous sons, known as the Yule Lads. Quite a family, isn’t it? And kind of dysfunctional too! Grýla the ogress for instance had … Read the full article →