Today is the last day of the All Things Iceland 15-day Christmas series. To hear about the Icelandic Yule Lads that have arrived during this time period, and an overview of this series, check out Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13 and Day 14.
This episode dives into what happens to the Icelandic Yule Lads after Christmas. Below is the Icelandic and English version of the last part of the poem by Jóhannes úr Kötlum.
Icelandic poem about the Yule Lads
Á sjálfa jólanóttina,
-sagan hermir frá,-
á strák sínum þeir sátu
og störðu ljósin á.
Svo tíndust þeir í burtu,
-það tók þá frost og snjór.
Á Þrettándanum síðasti
sveinstaulinn fór.
Fyrir löngu á fjöllunum
er fennt í þeirra slóð.
-En minningarnar breytast,
í myndir og ljóð.
English poem about the Yule Lads
On Christmas night itself
– so a wise man writes –
the lads were all restraint
and just stared at the lights.
Then one by one they trotted off
into the frost and snow.
On Twelfth Night the last
of the lads used to go.
Their footprints in the highlands
are effaced now for long,
the memories have all turned
to image and song.
Icelandic Christmas tradition
On this day, which is Christmas eve for many in the US, Icelanders have the tradition of getting dressed up and sitting down for dinner at 6 PM.
The main staples of the meal are usually boiled and sugared potatoes, green peas from a can, pickled red cabbage that also might be from a can, corn, laufabrauð, and some type of meat dish. My mother in law always has ptarmigan or rjúpa (which is a type of bird), but others might have beef, lamb, glazed ham or turkey.
It really depends on the family. After dinner, there is of course dessert. Later on you open gifts. Most people get a book for Christmas, so they usually go off and read their book at the end of the night.
Starting on December 25th, the Yule Lads start to make their way back to the mountains one by one each day. The last official day of Christmas in Iceland is January 6th.
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