"Gledileg Jol" is Icelandic for "Merry Christmas".
Rick and I spent two Christmases in Iceland and we've incorporated some of the Icelandic traditions into our own celebration. One thing we brought back with us was a calendar that tells the story of the Jolasveiner, the Yule Lads.
Instead of Santa Claus, Icelandic children receive gifts from the 13 Yule Lads. The Yule Lads live in the mountains with their parents, Gryla and Leppaludi. Starting on December 12th, the lads come down from the mountains one at a time to play tricks and leave gifts in the shoes of good children (naughty children get a potato).
My plan is to every day post a little blurb about the Yule Lad of the day. They are all named for the particular trick that they play. Some of them are pretty funny.
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