The 13 Icelandic Yule Lads: Iceland’s Bad Santas
Icelanders have their version of Santa Claus. Actually, we have thirteen versions of Santa Claus. Yes! Iceland has thirteen Santa Clauses, called Yule lads (‘Jólasveinar’ in Icelandic). The global trend of gentrification has caught up with them, and now they are a delight to children....
The Icelandic Christmas Cat: Iceland’s Most Terrifying Yuletide Monster
The horrible Icelandic Yule lads were a gruesome bunch of trolls that terrorized children and stole food from hungry peasants around Christmas. Their parents were the horrible ogre Grýla, who ate naughty children, and her bedridden, lazy, no-good husband Leppalúði. And there was their pet,...
How to Celebrate Icelandic Christmas
Icelanders go big on Christmas. Not only do we like to give big gifts but Icelandic Christmas goes on 13 days. Yes you read that correctly, Icelandic Christmas goes on for 13 days. Like elsewhere in the western world Christmas celebrations and preparations start obnoxiously...
New Year’s Eve in Iceland – celebrate with a bang!
As the readers of this magazine may have discerned, being stuck in Iceland isn’t always so bad. This is especially true for New Year’s Eve in Iceland, a fun night here. The main attraction is the massive fireworks that go on from 11 and beyond...
