Jólasveinar - the Icelandic Yuletide Lads

The Jólasveinar were counted as numbering either nine or thirteen, but their names are at least 70. Thirteen of the most commonly accepted names of the Jólasveinar are:

Stekkjastadur - Enclosure Post
Giljagadur - Crevice Imp
Stúfur - Itty Bitty
Thvörusleikir - Pot Scraper Licker
Pottasleikir - Pot Licker
Askasleikir - Bowl Licker
Hurdaskellir - Door Slammer
Skyrgámur - Skyr Gobbler (Skyr is an Icelandic yoghurt)
Bjúgnakrćkir - Sausage Snatcher
Gluggagćgir - Window Peeper
Gáttathefur - Doorway Sniffer
Ketkrókur - Meat Hooker
Kertasníkir - Candle Beggar

A few of the other names used for the Jólasveinar follow, as they are descriptive of their natures, with an English translation:

Baggi - Bundle
Bandaleysir - Strap Loosener
Bjálfansbarnid - Idiot Child
Flotgleypir - Fat Gobbler
Hlödustrangi - Barn Roll
Kleinusníkir - Donut Beggar
Lampaskuggi - Lamp Shadow
Móamangi - Moor Charlie
Reykjasvelgur - Smoke Gulper
Smjörhákur - Butter Greedy
Svartiljótur - Blackugly
Svellabrjótur - Icebreaker

As can be seen from the names the Jólasveinar are thought of as playful imps, whose main interest seems to be to get their hands on some of the seasonal food and other goodies. Or they are lurking about trying to do some minor mischief.

When they first appeared the Jólasveinar had many of the attributes of their parents, but soon started to seem milder, and in the last century gained some of the attributes of their Nordic counterparts, and in this century they have become homegrown versions of St. Nick or Santa Clauses.

The Jólasveinar live in the mountains, and start to arrive in town, one a day, thirteen days before Christmas Eve, the last one arriving that morning. They leave little presents for the children in shoes that the children have put on the window sill the night before. Or, if the children have been naughty, they leave a potato, or some reminder that good behaviour is better. Then they start departing for home again on Christmas Day, and the last one departs on Threttándinn.

At first the clothing of the Jólasveinar was just the ordinary every-day wear of the common Icelander, but in this century they have taken to wearing the traditional red suits of St. Nick or Santa Claus. In the last few years there has been a revival of the old style clothing.

Gryla and Leppalúd

This couple of child-eating, bloodthirsty ogres are the supposed parents of the Jólasveinar. The dominant member in the relationship is Gryla, who according to some sources had another husband before Leppalúd. His name was Boli. Boli, and later Leppalúd, were bedridden and 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 lays and stories about Gryla and her exploits, but she really never gets her hands on any children, either they have been very well behaved through the year, or they manage to escape.

In the translation to English, the names are not always the same, as the verses below show. Unfortunately, I can no longer find the site where I found them, so they must go uncredited. Much of the above is from the Virtually Virtual Iceland site.

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JÓLASVEINAR

SHEEP-COT CLOD
When this clumsy fellow entered the sheep-cot,
he gave the sheep no peace nor rest.
He was having such great fun
until the ram came up to check on the intruder
and went straight for the Lad,
butting Sheep-Cot Clod into the muck.

GULLY GAWK
Gully Gawk slid silently into the cowshed,
saw the bull and didn't want to come closer.
Looking into every corner he didn't see a soul
and thought he might try and get some milk.
He took hold of a teat, and milk ran into his palm,
but the cow was annoyed and gave him a kick.

SHORTY
Poor Shorty kept his undivided attention
on the kitchen pans, coveting their contents.
On stubby legs he hovered near the larder,
Ingenious in finding ways to get near the roast.
Waiting in a corner where he was unseen,
for a chance to snatch a pan of juicy meat.

LADLE LICKER
Ladle Licker lingered on the road,
long and thin he looks like a flagpole.
Hurrying in the dark he found a pot at once
and greedily started to lick the ladle.
But in his haste he forgot to take care,
and the hot ladle burnt his tongue.

POT SCRAPER
Pot Scraper had a nimble hand
with nice big pots of burnt-on food.
Snatching them out of the farm girls' hands
he scraped the pots with all his might.
And with many he spent so long,
he probably scraped a hole right through.

BOWL LICKER
Bowl Licker arrived rather late
as people were sitting down to eat.
Nothing pleased him as much as when
fussy children didn't finish their food.
A leftover fan, Bowl Licker sneaked in
and thoroughly cleaned all the bowls.

DOOR SLAMMER
Out of sight sat Door Slammer
always bent on teasing people,
Late at night this Lad took pleasure
in noisily disturbing people's sleep.
He slammed the doors hard enough
to frighten the dogs who fled upstairs.

SKYR GOBBLER
Skyr Gobbler was greedy for good food
and often sat on the roof beam in the larder.
When the door to the larder closed
he stole down and had himself some skyr.
Some of it of course landed on his clothes
and his beard became all spotted with the stuff.

SAUSAGE SWIPER
Always hungry, Sausage Swiper
didn't take long to find a farm.
His specialty was to spot
a string of sausages on a nail.
Visiting as many farms as he could,
he stole sausages everywhere.

WINDOW PEEPER
Window Peeper was a very curious fellow
he visited most farms and took a look inside.
Lying at the windows he made faces at people,
and if somebody saw him he just gave a laugh.
The children fled in haste to escape the sight,
for he really had an ugly face.

DOOR SNIFFER
Door Sniffer's nose stood him in good stead
he used it to find all kinds of things.
While still up in the mountains he could smell
the quickest way to find some food.
And out of the drifting snow he would appear,
sticking his noes into every door ajar.

MEAT HOOK
Meat Hook was a fancier of mutton well-smoked.
Sitting by the chimney top when darkness fell,
he looked down the chimney, and if he saw meat
deftly sent his hook down for his favourite meal.
The people on the farm gave a hue and cry
seeing their Christmas dinner flying away.

CANDLE BEGGAR
Candle Beggar loved candlelight
and stole into the farmhouse for a look.
Feasting his eyes on the Christmas candles
and the children carrying them to and fro,
He hid in a corner where nobody saw him
and then snatched a candle for himself.
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And now you know a little bit about some of the Christmas tradition in Iceland.