Kertasníkir.....Candle-beggar appears on Christmas Eve as the children wait in anticipation while their parents light the Christmas candles. When the family leaves the living room to get the children. Kertasníkir slips into the room and takes as many candles as he can carry.
One Christmas Eve, when I was very little...somewhere between four and six...I heard in a booming voice "Krakkar mínir, komið þið sæl, hvað er hér á seyði?" which loosely translated means "Hello my children what is going on". This phrase is the beginning of a song that a Jólasveinn sings for and with children. I ran to the stairwell (I lived in a high rise building) and looked down and there was Kertasníkir. He winked at me and I froze...in fright and delight at the same time. He then laughed and disappeared. Needless to say all I talked about was Kertasníkir, until the last day of Christmas when my mother told me that all the Jólasveiar had left and would not return until next Christmas.
