An off-hand remark about coal in stockings is usually enough to scare American kids into submission during the holidays. But in Iceland, parents go to much darker places to garner good behavior … or at least they used to.
In the 1600s, little Icelandic boys and girls first heard about a woman named Grýla, who lived in the mountains with her aging husband, 13 sons (The Yule Lads), and a giant, black Yule Cat. Grýla was hideous. She was half ogre, half troll, and she had hooves, horns, and 15 tails – not mention large warts on her nose.
Since Grýla’s family lived in the mountains, they didn’t have a lot of dinner options. So she would send The Yule Lads (with names like Spoon Licker, Window Peeper, and Meat Hook) into town, where they would snatch unruly children and bring them back to be cooked in a stew.
The family’s black cat, named Yule Cat, only ate once a year. He waited until he could watch children unwrap their gifts at Christmas, then he would eat anyone who didn’t receive a piece of new clothing.
By 1746, Icelandic youngsters were so terrified of being eaten, they wouldn’t leave their homes. So the government stepped in and put a ban on using Grýla as an intimidation tactic.
After that, the ogress and her brood cleaned up their images. Grýla decided to send her sons into town only 13 days before Christmas, and they were instructed to spread holiday joy rather than fear.
One at a time, wearing a red-and-white suit, the boys now travel down from the mountains and place gifts in shoes that children leave on their windowsills. If the child of the house is good, they receive a small toy; if they’re bad, they get a rotten potato. But the bad kids figure rotten potatoes are better than being eaten, so they aren’t put out too much.
What happened to the Yule Cat? He’s still prowling around during the holidays. In fact, he’s probably the reason why children still beg their parents to put socks under the tree every year.
Images courtesy of Halldor Petursson; Hugleikur Dagsson
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