Yule Lads

Hello again, Jenna here! So, I finally got around to taking pictures of the little figurines known as Yule Lads. My host family has a set of them and I wanted to take a picture. (shown left) There is a really cute story behind these. These little guys are the Santa Claus's of Iceland, but they are known to cause mischief. I will post the link to where I got the explanations; I hope they are accurate. http://www.randburg.com/is/icelandic-yule-lads/index.asp

This is the link I got them from, but I'll copy the explanations into this blog so I get it right.

The story is that these 13 Santas had horrible parents who captured and ate naughty children. At first, their 13 children were thought to be scary just like their parents but later they became less frightening. The santas arrive 13 days before Christmas and each of them come one day at a time, and cause some trouble right before Christmas.

"The first one to arrive is the yule lad Stiff Legs, (Sheep-Cop-Clod): He loves to suck milk from the sheep, but his stiff legs make that very difficult. In Icelandic he's called "Staurfotur". The Second to arrive is the infamous Gully Gawk, (Gully Guy): Has a taste for the froth on the milk and keeps close to the cows.

The third is the yule lad Shorty, small and nimble and smacks his lips over the leftovers in the cooking pans, especially if they are burnt or gone bad. Then there is Ladle Licker, (Fence-Post-Pal), so thin he resembles the ladles which he licks the food from.

The fifth to arrive is Pot Scraper, he snatches the unwashed pots from the kitchen and scrapes the insides with his fingers and tongue and leaves them quite clean. Number six is Bowl Licker, very cunningly finds bowls that have been left unattended and finishes all food from them.

The seventh to arrive is door Slammer, he gets his kicks from slamming doors and making noise, using every chance he gets to disturb peoples sleep Then the nimber eight is curd Glutton (Skyr Gobbler), dairy products are his favorite and if stored in closed containers he simply breaks through the lid with his fist.

Ninth to arrive is the great Sausage Snatcher, (Sausage Swiper), very skilful when it comes to climbing up into the rafters to steal sausages where tha hang after being smoked. Then there is the not so popular Window Peeper, (Peeping Tom), he flattens his nose against every window to glimpse something to steal or at peoples actions inside. The eleventh to drop by is Sniffer, he has a huge nose and sniffes out his favorite food, fried bread, wherever it is being made. Twelfth of the Christmas boys to drop by is Meat Hook, he has a long pole with a hook on the end to put down the chimneys and into the meat hung on the rafters. And the last to come is Candle Beggar, he loves candles of all sorts and can't make up his mind whether to eat them or watch their lovely light.
Today, they leave little presents for the children who have behaved all year. The children leave their shoes on their window sills and the Jolasveinar but in it little gifts. Any children who have been naughty get a potato or some other reminder that good behavior is essential around Christmas."

So, that's the story of the Yule Lads in Iceland! Pretty fun story, huh? Personally, I think it's FAR more creative than the tradtional American version of the Santa story. Our host mom was also telling us that one of the yule lads has a cat who is mean and eats kids that don't get clothes for Christmas. She said this was more meant for parents to do something for their children for Christmas, especially if they don't have much money. The idea is that if the kids get a little clothing, even if it is just a pair of socks or shoes, then they will be safe from the cat eating their child, but it is mostly so that parents make sure to get their child something for Christmas. I thought it was a cute story. Puts a new twist to getting clothes for Christmas! I can remember always hating getting clothes when all I wanted was the hottest new toy, but now it's so much different. I was relieved to know that thanks to my parents getting me the Hawkeyes' Orange Bowl sweatshirt, I am unedible to the cat.

Right now, I am in Skalhalt. Many of the pastors here at the acadamey are in a lecture right now. Since the lecture is in Icelandic, and none of us speak or understand the language, we are sititng in the cafeteria area playing games and utilizing the wireless internet. The church here is beautiful (shown below), and there is a mosaic of Jesus in the front of the church. I will definitely be getting a picture of it tomorrow. It's gorgeous! The stained glass windows are also beautiful too. By the time we arrive today the sun was already setting so we didn't get to see the light through the stained glass, but we got an awesome view of the sunset!! Tomorrow, there will be more lectures (most of them in Icelandic) and then Dr. Giere will give a lecture called "The Sermon in Difficult Times." I'm excited to hear it! Should be a good day tomorrow. Anyway, I'm signing off so I can socialize.

Grace and Peace,

Jenna

Gracious Lord,

Thank you for the gift of community. We have been so blessed here by the amazing hospitiality and friendliness of the Icelandic people. Thank you for the pastors in Iceland, those here and those not here. Thank you for an opportunity for them to gather together in community, worship, prayer, and fellowship, and for giving us the opportunity to be a part of it. Please be with us and let the Spirit work in them and in us to hear your Holy Word. In Your name we pray, Amen.