Mo'a Romig-Boyles

The Tenth Icelandic Jólasveinn, Gluggagægir...Window-peeper

Gluggagægir...Window-peeper He sneaks around looking in all the windows, to case the premises for what he can steal. The people in the house scream in fright, when they see his face in the window. Gluggagægir only laughs and makes faces to scare them even more.

 

Meet Grýla and Leppalúði the Jólasveinars' parents. Are they not the most charming couple?

Grýla the Jólasveinars' Mother, is a huge Troll. She is hideous to say the very least. Her nose is big and crooked. She has big warts on her face with wiry hairs sticking out of them, big teeth, some worn down to a stub, shifty eyes, stringy hair and horns on top of her head.
She has enormous bony hands with long sharp nails, her feet a hoofs and she has a long tail.
It was recorded in the 13th Century that she had 15 tails with a 100 sacks on each tail and 20 children in each sack. It makes me shiver just to think about it, and I think and hope, that whoever recorded this story was prone to exaggeration.

Her diet is one that strikes fear in every Icelandic child, she eats naughty children, just like her pet, the Christmas Cat. Oh! the horror!!! Is it any wonder that the children are particularly good this time of year? As this is the time of year that Grýla and her family, venture from their caves in the mountains, down to the farms, towns and cities.
Leppalúði, whose name means Ragamuffin, on the other hand is a pitiful specimen of a Troll. He according to some telling is Grýla’s third husband.
Her first husband was Gustur whose name means Gust, as in a gust of wind. His death is suspicious and there has been much speculation and talk about just how much of a hand in his death Grýla had. I shall not go into that here, I might frighten you away with just mentioning one of the theories that I have heard. Shivers and more shivers!!!
The second unfortunate husband was Boli his name translates into Bull. Boli did not resemble is name at all. He was a sickly Troll and it is said that he was bedridden for a Trolls age and that he faded away in his sleep.

Leppalúði is the Jólasveinars' Father. He is a slovenly Troll that wears torn and tattered rags, that have been patched numerous times, by whom remains a mystery. He is an uncouth slobbering slacker, who usually waits in the cave, for Grýla to bring unfortunate naughty children, for his dinner.
Today he ventured down from the mountains to check out the story Grýla told him, about how hard it is to find misbehaving children in this day and age. Leppalúði is afraid of Grýla’s wrath and did not want to contradict her story, so for once he roused himself and followed her, the Christmas Cat and the Jólasveinar down to civilization. At worst, he thought to himself I could go to Bæjarins Bestu and steal some Pylsur and Cokes.

 

The Ninth Icelandic Jólasveinn, Bjúgnakrækir.....Sausage-swiper

Bjúgnakrækir.....Sausage-swiper is number nine. He will seek high and low to find the sausages that have been hidden from him. Sometimes they are hidden so well, that he can not find them.

Today luck was on his side, he found as many as he could carry. Truth be known that he has already eaten quite a few...I cannot tell you how many...I blush on his behalf.

The Eigth Icelandic Jólasveinn, Skyrgámur......skyr-gobbler

Skyrgámur......skyr-gobbler arrived today and made a straight line for the dairy, where he found a barrels of skyr* He gobbles down all the skyr and is rewarded with stomach aches and pains. He is heard far and near, as he cries out “I should not have eaten all the skyr”.

Warning!!!  Lock up your favorite buttons.  Skyrgámur has taken to stealing buttons. Skyr is so plentiful these days that Skyrgámur eats and eats it until the buttons on his shirt pop...sometimes so far that he cannot find them again...his only recourse is to steal buttons.

 

Skyr is a dairy product similar to yogurt that has been an stable part of the Icelandic diet for more than 1,100 years. Whole Foods imports Skyr from Iceland's Skyr.is. I am very happy about that...it is nice to have one of my favorite foods from Iceland in my refrigerator here in the States.

The Christmas Cat (Jólaköttur) has been striking terror in the hearts of Icelandic children for generations.
The Jólaköttur, is an enormous and ferocious ugly specimen of a cat, who has an appetite for misbehaving children. Naughty children did not get new things to wear for Christmas, thus they would have to stay in bed, miss all the festivities and worse, be eaten by the Christmas Cat.
Oh! The horror of it. I was always a good girl, really I was ;) My Mother always made sure I would have something red to wear, a candle and playing cards for Christmas. And I am here to tell the story, so obviously the Christmas Cat never ate me.
It is not enough that in Iceland adults had to worry whether their Christmas dinner would be delayed or stolen. Whether they and their animals would be scared out of their whits by the pranksters, whose progress we have been following here, the Jólasveinar. Their children had to deal with the Christmas Cat, Grýla and Leppalúði who had a huge appetite for naughty children.
Now, the Jólasveinar have become generous benefactors to good children. They each leave them a gift in their shoe as they arrive. If the Children have been naughty they will get a potato in their shoe instead of a gift. They are still up to the tricks that their name conveys , however, they never forget to leave something in the children’s shoes.
Not a bad life, I would say, for the modern Icelandic Children, who get a present in their shoe for 13 days, before Christmas. Furthermore there have been no reports of children having been eaten by the Jólaköttur, Grýla or Leppalúði, instead one hears an occasional report, that someone found the dreaded potato in their shoe.  

 

The Seventh Icelandic Jólasveinn, Hurðaskellir........Door-slammer

Hurðaskellir........Door-slammer is the seventh to arrive. He waits until everyone has gone to sleep, then slams all the doors in the house. He delights in the different sounds they make. The household wakes up from their sleep startled by all the noise, children cry, people shout and scream and dogs bark. All this is music to Door-slammer's ears.

Hurðaskellir hears people running after him...so he runs even faster, as he does not know what they would do to him should they catch him.  Run Hurðaskellir Run!!!

The Sixith Icelandic Jólasveinn, Askjasleikir.......Bowl-licker

Askjasleikir.......Bowl-licker is a very brave little fellow. He sneaks around waiting for someone in the household to put down their food bowl. Then the brazen little fellow snatches it away and licks it clean.  Askjasleikir has to be fast on his feet to get away from the bowl's angry owner, the household cat and a particularly snarly dog .

The Fifth Jólasveinn, Pottasleikir.....Pot-scraper

Pottasleikir.....Pot-scraper arrived today. He found the stew pot unattended. He grabbed it and sat down to have himself a good meal. There in the pot were several pieces of meat. He has not had such luck for many years.

Your response to the new version of the Jólasveinar is so exciting for me...thank you for all your kind comments.
The little fellows are a lot of work and at the same time a great deal of pleasure to create.  Sometimes after I have made a face, I say to myself "This one looks like my Uncle B, or this one reminds me of how V...crinkles his eyes when he smiles and this one has my Father's lips"  I guess the faces I have admired and loved somehow come from my hands and are represented in my Jólasveinar. 
It is all Magic you know...so much so that at times I wonder "How did I do that?" when I wake up from the creative flow. Have you ever had that happen when you are creating?

Fourth Jólasveinn, Þvörusleikir...Spoon-licker

Þvörusleikir...Spoon-licker likes to lick the wooden spoon, that is used to stir the food in the big pots.
When he sees his opportunity he shoots into the kitchen and grabs the spoon and holds it tight with both hands. This poor fellow is long and skinny and always hungry, as there is not much nourishment on a wooden spoon.
Today he was lucky as you can see and has licked the spoon clean.

It is interesting to me how many translations of the name Jólasveinar there are. I have come across Yulelads, Yuletide Lads, Yule Goblins, Christmas Elves, Christmas Men and Christmas Lads. I am sure there are many more.
There have been over 80 recorded names for the Jólasveinar themselves, describing their looks or their tricks.
I wonder why names such as Bandaleisir....Strap looser, Faldafleikir....Skirt blower, this name I have also seen translated as Skirt flipper, Hlodustrangi....Barn roll.
Have the Jólasveinar become more politically correct?  I wonder.

Third Jólasveinn, Stúfur...Stubby

Stúfur...Stubby. He is very small and timid (although he feigns an air of confidence), he is afraid of his aggressive brothers, hardly dares to do any mischief at all.  He waits in the corner of the kitchen, where the housewife is frying the meat, in the hope that she will leave the pan behind. Stúfur lives in anticipation, sometimes he is lucky
sometimes he is not.

I have loved the story of the thirteen Jólasveinar as long as I can remember. When I was a little girl my Mother gave me Christmas cards with Jólasveina images, they were drawn  by Eggert. I had carefully colored them with color pencil.  I still have nine of the cards and suspect that there were actually only nine in the beginning.  In some stories about the Jólasveinar only nine are mentioned. One of my favorite Christmas songs is a song called  “Jólasveinar One and Eight”, it tells about them coming down from the mountains, and the adventures they had along the way.

The Second Jólasveinn, Giljagaur...Gully-gawk

Giljagaur...Gully-gawk arrives today. He is a handsome and most happy fellow. He has passion for the froth that forms on the warm milk as it comes from the cow. He sneaks into the barn and while the milk maid is not looking, Giljagaur dips his finger into the milk pail and licks the froth off his finger. Giljagaur, was lucky today.

The costumes that I used for the Jólasveinar, is based on the Icelandic costume the men wore in the 18th century. Sheep skin shoes (sauðskinsskór), that were very thin and without soles and had hand knit inserts (leppar), imagine walking in these shoes over the lava fields. Short breeches and hand knit woolen socks, nice and warm. A sweater loosely based on the lopapeysa,I say loosely as the designs I have made on the Jólasveinar sweaters, are not as ornate and intricate as the real thing. Mittens (vettlingar) and a woolen hat.
Some years I did not use the lopapeysa but did a variation on the way men dressed in earlier times in Iceland.

The First Jólasveinnn, Stekkjastaur.....Stiff-legs

 This is the tenth anniversary of my count down to Christmas by telling the story of the Jólasveinar.  This will be my last year so from time to time I will show you different versions of the Jólasveinar that I have made these last ten years.

The first to arrive is Stekkjastaur.....Stiff-legs.  His legs are so stiff that he cannot bend his knees. Thankfully he is tall and is able to leap and bound over boulders and lava rocks on his way down from the mountain.

When he arrives he sneaks into the sheep shed, hoping to milk one of the ewes, for his favorite drink. He is particularly stiff today, after his long walk from his mountain home. The sheep startled they jump and tumble about the shed, and due to Stekkjastaur’s stiff legs are able to get away. Poor Stekkjastaur will have no milk today.

Here is the story of the Icelandic Jólasveinar:   Today December 12th is a big day in Iceland, the first of the 13 Jólasveinar, variously called Yule Goblins, Christmas Men, Christmas Elves or Christmas Lads, arrives down from the mountains.
Today's arrival is Stiff-legs aka Sheep-Cote Clod followed by his brothers the last one arriving on the 24th, Christmas Eve. Then they leave for the mountains one by one, the last one leaving on 12th night, January 6th.
These charmers were first mentioned in print in the 17th century and were known by various names which differ from region to region, with up to 80 names recorded.
Most of the names reflect the tricks they played. They coveted things people found hardest to do without during the lean times and the blackest Arctic nights, food and light.
Their parents were real charmers, their names are Grýla (Ugly) and Leppalúði (one who wears tattered clothes). It was said that Grýla and Leppalúði liked to feast on misbehaving children and were used as bogeymen to terrify children into obedience. The family pet was an enormous Black Cat who had the same culinary habits as Grýla and Leppalúði.The children of today, do not have to worry about Grýla, Leppalúði and the Cat's former culinary habits, as they now probably prefer a Pizza or a Hamburger with a Coke.
In the twenty first century the 13 Jólasveinar have mellowed and evolved from bogeymen into benevolent beings. They are now entertainment for, and friends to children. Each night when the Icelandic children go to bed they leave their shoe on the window sill. If they have been good, they will receive a gift from each of the Jólasveinar as they arrive from their mountain home. If they have been bad, they will find a potato in their shoe.