This is folklore from Iceland.The Yule Dudes start arriving in town on the
morning of December 12th. Remember to place a shoe on your windowsill before
that, as they will leave a small cyber-gift for children who have been good, a small
toy or fruit, for example, and those children who have been naughty will receive
something they will not like too much.
Every day from December 12th to Yule Eve, December 24th a new Yule Dude
appears.
Lepuldi an ogre, kidnapped Gryla from her home in the valley and took her to his
mountaintop lair. Gryla was an excellent cook.
They had 13 children all boys. Gryla did not like any of them. She would cook
sumptuous feasts and lock the poor children out. She would feed the scraps to her
Cat. They had to fend for themselves. As they got older they came off the
mountaintop to a village where the people were making Yule tide preparations. The
boys thought what fun and free food for the taking. So they agreed to come off
the mountain one by one Starting on Dec 12th so no one would get suspicious or
get the villagers irate.
On Dec 12, The first one to come down was stiff leg. He is also known as Sheep
Barn Clod. He liked to steal the ewes milk, but he couldn't bend his knees. He got
grumpy and made trouble in the village
On Dec 13th the second one off the mountain was Gully Gawk. He would lay in a
gully outside a barn and wait for the milkmaids to leave and would sneak into the
cow barns so he could steal the cows milk.
Dec 14 Shorty was the third Yule Dude to leave the mountain. Because he was so
short all he could find were the burnt pans left to soak on the floor. He thought the
burnt leavings were just grand.
Dec 15, The Fourth one off the Mountain was Spoon Licker. He would wait for the
cook to put the spoon in the bowl and steal the spoon and lick it clean. There was
always something good in the bowl.
Now Pot Scraper was the next one off the mountain. He would arrive late at night
on the 16th of December. He would knock on the front door and run to the back
door. He would sneak into the scullery and take all of the pots and scrape the food
that was left. The people in the house thought they had a ghost for a guest.
Dec 17th, Bowl Licker was the next one of the Yule Dudes off the Mountain, he
would sneak in the house and hide under a bed. when the bowls were put out for
the dog and cat He would steal those and eat the food in the bowls till they were
clean.
December 18 Door Slammer would arrive making much noise and disturbing everyone
in the village as he went round slamming doors and making lots of noise.
Dec 19, Skyr Gobbler would wander into the village and find the barrel of Skyr
(Yogurt) that was being prepared. He would break the lid and gobble the whole
barrel. He was very fat and greedy.
December 20 , Sausage swiper would sneak into the attic and sit on the cross beam
and steal the sausages that were hanging from the rafters to be smoked.
Dec 21 Window Peeper a little twit,would peek in to see what he could take when
everone was in bed.
On Dec 22 A large fellow with a big nose would appear He was Door Sniffer. He
would sniff out all the goodies in a house. He especially liked the lace bread which
was being prepared for the Yule Celebration.
On Dec 23rd, The Twelfth one, Meat Hooker would arrive on St Thorlaks day He
knew the Villagers would be celebrating their patron Saint. He would steal the
meat, using a hook sometimes it was too short and he would almost get caught.
On Christmas Eve, Candle Beggar would try and steal the children's candles. Candles
were very precious so the children only received them at Yule tide.
On Christmas day all of the Yule Dudes were wore out and all they could do was
stare at the Christmas Lights. Then one by one they trotted off to their mountain
On Twelfth Night the last of the Yule Dudes would go.
These boys were so bad that the parents would threaten their children with these
Yule Dudes to make them behave.
Now their antics have gotten better so that children in Iceland leave their shoes
out and sometimes the Yule Dudes leave them presents. For more Information go
to the library or the internet and do a Search on Iceland and Yule Lads ,Christmas
customs of Iceland.
