Yuletide Lads
Iceland's Christmas Food Customs

Yule Lads figurine collection by Brian Pilkington

The Yule Lads, or Yulemen, (Icelandic: jólasveinarnir) are the Icelandic santa clauses. Their number has varied throughout the ages, but currently they are considered to be thirteen.

Their names, the dates on which they appear and drawings of those specifically food-related are:

Stekkjastaur (Sheepfold Stick) – December 12
Giljagaur (Gilly Oaf) – December 13
Stúfur (Shorty) – December 14

Þvörusleikir (Spoon-licker) – December 15

Pottasleikir (Pot-licker) – December 16

Askasleikir (Bowl-licker) – December 17

Hurðaskellir (Door-slammer) – December 18

Skyrgámur (Skyr-glutton) – December 19

Bjúgnakrækir (Sausage-pilfer) – December 20

Gluggagægir (Peeper) – December 21
Gáttaþefur (Sniffer) – December 22

Ketkrókur (Meat-hook) – December 23

Kertasníkir (Candle-beggar) – December 24

The Yule Lads were originally considered to be very bad news - they were pranksters that tortured the farmers, as can be seen from their names.

The Yule Lads are said to be the sons of Grýla and Leppalúði, vicious trolls that live in the mountains. Grýla is ancient - her name is even mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's thirteenth century Edda. Grýla is said to wander down from the mountains in search of children that she puts in her sack. Grýla is definitely the dominant member in the relationship and generally considered more terrifying - even sometimes said to have hooves and a tail. Another prominent member of the family is the Yuletide Cat, a beast much feared by children. It was said that the cat would eat any child that didn't get a new article of clothing in time for Christmas. This believe lingers in the Icelandic language in the form a saying: "You don't want to go to the Yuletide Cat."

In modern times the Yule Lads have taken on a more benevolent role as they slowly merge with Santa Claus. They have taken up his costume, and nowadays little children in Iceland place their shoes in the window for thirteen days prior to Christmas, and each night a little gift is left in the shoe from the Yule Lad that came down from the mountains that night. Learn more about Yuletide Lads and find links here.

Christmas Season

http://jol.ismennt.is/ljos/christmastre.htm

A Christmas programme starts at Austurvöllur Park in the Reykjavík City Centre Sunday, Dec. 4th at 16.00. A Christmas tree will be lit up, accordion players and choruses will perform traditional Christmas songs. The Icelandic Yule Lads will pay a visit to the crowd and there will be entertainment for the children and much more…

The Christmas Village in Hafnarfjörður has already opened. Nestling in the heart of Hafnarfjörður, the Christmas Village offers a special opportunity to enjoy the festive season. Every weekend until Christmas, the Christmas Village in Hafnarfjörður will be open, offering a wide selection of gifts, Christmas decorations and delicious foodstuffs. Live musical performances as well as the opportunity to meet Iceland’s very own Yuletide Lads, thirteen mischievous Santa’s who are said to bring gifts to good children for the thirteen nights preceding Christmas Day and their mother is often seen in the neighbourhood. Read more here.

Icelandic Christmas Foods

The food that was considered fit for a feast in the last century would, for the most part, not be classed like that today. Fresh mutton was a delicacy, as was everything baked or fried of flour and sugar and anything made from grain. These items were rarities in those days and the choice of holiday foods reflects that. Usually a sheep was slaughtered on Þorláksmessa, and served as mutton soup on Yule eve, along with porridge, or Hangikjöt was served. The Hangikjöt was cooked on Þorláksmessa and the fragrance, which permeated the whole building, ushered in Yule.

The Laufabrauð, or Leaf Bread, is a work of art in itself, the designs often accompanying families through generations. The Laufabrauð started as a speciality food in Northern Iceland but is now served all over the country.

"One of the characteristics of Icelandic foodways in the old days, is a lack of corn (wheat, etc.) Icelanders grew some corn in the first centuries of habitation but it virtually ceased in the late Middle Ages due to the deteriorating climate. In the seventeenth, eighteenth and up to the late-nineteenth century, bread was seldom used except on festive occasions among the common people. The result was, for example, that people made very good use of every bit of available grain, and that might be the reason why Icelandic festive bread is particularly thin and decorative. At everyday meals, people consumed dried fish or angelica roots with butter or fat on them, but little or no bread. The available grain was thought to be more substantial in porridges, than bread. To spare the use of grain in bread and porridges people harvested Iceland moss and dulse to a considerable degree. Those two plants have probably been an essential source of carbohydrates for the Icelandic population since early times. Scurvy grass and lime grass were also used as substitutes for grain but to a lesser degree. This lack of grain in the old days is possibly reflected in the extreme use of pastry and cakes in feasts and receptions in Icelandic homes in the twentieth century." Read the full article here.

In the latter years Hamborgarhryggur, Smoked Pork Rack, and the poor man's dinner of the last century Rjúpa, Rock Ptarmigan, has been promoted to the feast table.

The above information comes from this website which also features recipes for many of Iceland's Christmas foods.

Skyr

Skyr with strawberry taste
from the Icelandic dairy product company Norðurmjólk

Skyr is an Icelandic soured dairy product, thicker than yoghurt. It was once prepared in other Scandinavian countries, but is presently unique to Icelandic cuisine.

Traditionally, skyr is made by heating skimmed milk to 90°-100°C and pasteurised to kill the bacteria except for skyr bacteria, such as Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. Then, "skyr condenser" — good skyr, used to ignite bacteria growth, and rennet was added, and the milk was left to coagulate. The skyr is then strained through fabric to remove whey, a by-product.

Skyr, in its traditional preparation, has no added flavors beyond the ingedients mentioned above. Recently, Icelandic manufacturers of Skyr have added flavors such as vanilla, berry and other flavorings common to yoghurt to the final product, to increase its appeal. Skyr-based smoothies have become very popular.

Þorláksmessa---Skate Lunch
The Day of St. Thorlakur (December 23rd)

St.Thorlakur and a Skate, the traditional food served on December 23rd.

Here are "bites" from a delightful article by an Icelander named Johanna as she explains the 23th of December in Iceland "The Day of the Skate Lunch." The pictures are by Salvor Gissurardottir from the Skate lunch at the restaurant Naustid in Reykjavik on December 23th, 1999.

"In my parent's home and many others, the smell of hangikjöt cooking on Þorláksmessa is one of the long-awaited signs that Christmas is coming. But it is the skate that is the dish of the day.

Þorlákur was a 12th century Icelandic bishop, who was revered as the patron saint of Iceland after his death in 1193. He was (finally) canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1985. Read more about him here.

Enjoying the "Skate" lunch on St.Thorlakur's Day

In past centuries fresh fish was a common food on Þorláksmessa in Iceland. The origins of the tradition of eating fish (skate) on Þorláksmessa is that this is the last day of the Catholic Christmas fast, and of course people weren't expected to eat meat on this day. The tradition continued after the country converted to Lutheranism, because this was a busy day, and food had to be quick and simple. (No work was done on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, so everything had to be ready by Christmas Eve.)

The tradition of eating this peculiar and smelly food (it has a strong odour of ammonia) arose in the West Fjords. The best time for catching Skate is in the late autumn, and the pickling and putrefying process takes a while to complete, so it would be ready and available around Christmas time. Therefore it was perfectly normal that skate would be served on Þorláksmessa. This tradition has slowly spread all over the country, and now there are many people who look as much forward to eating skate on Þorláksmessa as they do to eating hangikjöt, ptarmigan or steak on Christmas Eve.

At the skate lunch, two kinds of skate are served, one kind is salted and only slightly putrefied, the other salted and very putrefied. This is served in chunks, with boiled potatoes and a choice of two kinds of mör, the ordinary kind (melted sheep's tallow with burned bits of membrane - tastes better than it sounds), and hnoðmör (the same, just kneaded and allowed to go stale before eating)."

You can read the full article and see more photos of this pre-Christmas feast here.

Links
Yul in Iceland
Yule Lad illustrations above by Halldor Patursson

More about Icelandic Christmas here

Learn more about skates here.

Information about skates on Wikipedia.

You Decide:

Skates are considered an endangered species, learn more here.

Image source

Visit a skate fishing business here.