The Yule Lads, Iceland's 13 Bad Santas

Today, December 12th, is a very special day for children in Iceland. It marks the arrival of Stekkjarstaur, the first of "The Yule Lads," Iceland's 13 mischievous, misbehaving Santa Clauses. One Yule Lad arrives each night from now until "Yule," aka Christmas Day. According to tradition, The Yule Lads are the unruly sons of the mountain-dwelling troll Grýla and her henpecked elf husband Leppalúði. They're a far cry from jolly old St. Nick, but a lot more fun. For example, Stekkjarstaur, whose English name is Sheep-Cote Clod, loves to irritate sheep but has trouble because of his awkward peg legs. He is often depicted attempting to mount a sheep, which I suspect is a tongue-in-cheek joke for the adults! He is a particularly fitting first arrival in Iceland where sheep outnumber people.

The story of The Yule Lads was originally developed to scare children into behaving. The 13 ne'er-do-wells are always looking for something to steal and even have an evil cat named Jólaköttur, who eats children who don't receive new clothes for Christmas. Tonight's visitor Sheep-Cote Clod will be followed tomorrow by Gully Gawk, who steals cow's milk, Stubby, a very short Lad who steals pans to eat the crust, then Spoon Licker, Pot Scraper, Bowl Licker, Door Slammer, Skyr Gobbler (Skyr being a very tasty Icelandic version of yogurt), Sausage Swiper, Window Peeper, Doorway Sniffer, who is trying to find laufabraud, a special fried holiday bread, to steal, and finally Meat Hook and Candle Stealer, who traditionally thieves tallow candles made of lard and eats them.

Every night, the wee ones will put out a shoe in their windowsill and hope that they have been good and will receive a present in the morning. If they've been bad, they will probably wake up to find a potato. Children are encouraged to place an appropriate bribe in the shoe for each Yule Lad to have a better chance, and there are plenty of publications suggesting the best treat for each one, such as a carrot or some cookies. Candle Stealer, naturally, responds best to a delicious candle.

Window Peeper, the voyeuristic Yule Lad

Sausage Swiper

Skyr Gobbler and Window Peeper depicted on Icelandic milk carton