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The Icelandic Yule Lads are the sons of the trolls Grýla and Leppalúði. They come down from the mountains, one each of the thirteen nights before Christmas bringing children small treats In the days of yore however, they were anything but nice. Instead of bringing treats, they came to scare peple and steal what was most precious to them, their food.
The second Yule Lad is Giljagaur (Gully Gawk). As stealthy as a shadow he threaded the gullies down from the mountains, to avoid being seen. He hid in the cow barns waiting for a chance to skim the cream off the milk when the farmer wasn't looking. I don't know how that's going for him with all the automated milking equipment these days. Fortunately he's mostly leaving treats in little shoes instead of stealing milk.
The Icelandic Christmas Legends ornaments from Raven Design, featuring the Yule Lads, Grýla, Leppalúði and the Yule Cat are now available in my online shop. Shipping is available to Europe and N-America, if your country is not listed, but you would like to buy the ornaments send me a line at gardaflora@gardaflora.is.
These are the best stories. :) I grew up on a big mixed family farm that included an uncle who had a dairy with all the machines and the big bulk tank. All I have to say is Giljagaur would have needed to watch out for both the milk truck driver (who would have imposed a sanitary violation) and my grandfather ( who imposed a whack across the backside with his stick, and not gently) for drinking milk straight from the tank. :) I’m ordering the parent trolls; these stories are entertaining and I want to do my part to keep them going. :)