Yule lads are 13 trolls from Icelandic folklore who put rewards (or punishments) in shoes laid out on windowsills by children on the 13 nights in the run up to Christmas. Some Yule lads are mere pranksters while some are… homicidal monsters who eat children.

 

The Yule Lads – Picture taken by Inga Vitola (Flickr) and licensed CC-BY

 

You can find out more about the Yule lads (and when they’re due to arrive in town) on the greatest open education tool; Wikipedia.

But just in case, below is a list of their names & descriptions so you can watch out for them (and their monstrous Yule Cat)!

 

Icelandic Name	English translation	Description
Stekkjarstaur	Sheep-Cote Clod	Harasses sheep, but is impaired by his stiff peg-legs.
Giljagaur	Gully Gawk	Hides in gullies, waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the cowshed and steal milk.
Stúfur	Stubby	Abnormally short. Steals pans to eat the crust left on them.
Þvörusleikir	Spoon-Licker	Steals spoons to lick. Is extremely thin due to malnutrition.
Pottaskefill	Pot-Scraper	Steals leftovers from pots.
Askasleikir	Bowl-Licker	Hides under beds waiting for someone to put down their bowl which he then steals.
Hurðaskellir	Door-Slammer	Likes to slam doors, especially during the night.
Skyrgámur	Skyr-Gobbler	A Yule Lad with an affinity for skyr.
Bjúgnakrækir	Sausage-Swiper	Would hide in the rafters and snatch sausages that were being smoked.
Gluggagægir	Window-Peeper	A voyeur who would look through windows in search of things to steal.
Gáttaþefur	Doorway-Sniffer	Has an abnormally large nose and an acute sense of smell which he uses to locate laufabrauð.
Ketkrókur	Meat-Hook	Uses a hook to steal meat.
Kertasníkir	Candle-Stealer	Follows children in order to steal their candles.

 

 

Ewan McAndrew

Wikimedian in Residence

University of Edinburgh