Our Christmas is a little bit different. Every year we get a big package from Iceland with candies, chocolate and small gifts, so we have a small Icelandic corner in our livingroom. The corner is decorated with trolls and jólasveinar. I want to tell those of you that still belive in the Coca Cola Santa Claus a different Christmas Story:

What might come as a surprise for most of you is that the Icalandic Christmases are helped along by trolls. There are13 Jólasveinar (Yuletide lads) who are descended from trolls and come down from the mountains one-by-one and leave gifts for good children in shoes left on window sills from the 12th onwards. Bad children risk receiving a potato, but even this is a blessing. Over the years, the lads have become more generous and much less terrifying.

Their mother and their house pet are rather different, though. Grýla (first mentioned in Edda), their troll mother, is famed for wander down from the mountains in search of naughty children that she puts in her sack and later eating  them – which is gruesome, but ultimately deserved, one might suppose. On the other hand, the Christmas Cat likes nothing more than eating poverty-stricken kids (or, more accuartely, those who don’t get any new clothes for Christmas). Let’s hope that new socks are acceptable, otherwise I think Save the Children might be having words with said feline.

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Here are the names of the 13 Jólasveinar:

  • Stekkjastaur – Enclosure Post (December 12)
  • Giljagaur – Crevice Imp (December 13)
  • Stúfur – Itty Bitty (December 14)
  • Þvörusleikir – Pot Scraper Licker (December 15)
  • Pottasleikir – Pot Licker (December 16)
  • Askasleikir – Bowl Licker (December 17)
  • Hurðaskellir – Door Slammer (December 18)
  • Skyrgámur – Skyr Gobbler (Skyr, an Icelandic yoghurt) (December 19)
  • Bjúgnakrækir – Sausage Snatcher (December 20)
  • Gluggagægir – Window Peeper (December 21)
  • Gáttaþefur – Doorway Sniffer (December 22)
  • Ketkrókur – Meat Hooker (December 23)
  • Kertasníkir – Candle Beggar (December 24)