Jólasveinar
Jólasveinar [ 'jouːlaˌsvεiˑnar̥ ] (German Christmas companions ) are the Icelandic Santa Clauses , 13 rough, rough companions. Nowadays they also bring presents and wear the more effective red coats.
regional customs
They come to the people from the mountains on December 12th. Every day someone is added until everyone is together on aðfangadagskvöld (“early day evening ”, Christmas Eve ). After that, a daily goes back until at þrettándinn (13th Christmas / Epiphany , Jan. 6 ) are all gone.
Her mother is the troll woman Grýla and Leppalúði is her father. Originally, they didn't bring presents, but stole something edible here and there and annoyed people. Grýla is a terrifying figure who is said to have preferred to eat naughty children. Her housemates also include jólakötturinn (the Christmas cat ). It eats lazy people who haven't used all of the autumn's wool. The hard-working get jólaföt ( Christmas clothes ), something to wear for Christmas .
The rest of the cooking was additional bites for the children, stúfur, Þvörusleikir and pottaskefill they make it difficult for them. Each resident in the house had their own personal Askur (wooden bowl) with a hinged lid. Warm food was not cooked every day. In the old days “Kerti og Spil” (a tallow candle and a deck of cards) were common Christmas presents for children.
The deeds of the Christmas guys are described in a well-known poem by Jóhannes úr Kötlum (1899–1972). There are 13-page advent calendars in Iceland. The Christmas song Jólasveinar einn og átta (“ Santas one and eight”) tells of only nine Christmas companions . In other texts, other names are given for them less often.
List of Jólasveinar
Come | Go | Icelandic | pronunciation | German |
12th of December | 25 December | Stekkjastaur | [ 'stεhcaˌstœyr̥ ] | Pen post, is thin and stiff, steals milk from the ewes in the stable |
13th December | December 26th | Gilyagaur | [ 'cɪljaˌkœyr̥ ] | Schluchtenkobold, nibbling on the milk foam in the cowshed |
December 14th | December 27th | Stúfur | [ 'stuːvʏr̥ ] | The little one loves the burnt remains in the pan |
15th December | December 28th | Þvörusleikir | [ 'θvœːrʏˌslεiˑcɪr̥ ] | Licking a wooden spoon, grabs the cookware |
December 16 | December 29th | Pottaskefill | [ 'pʰɔhtaˌscεːvɪtl̥ ] | Pot scraper, licks the pots empty |
December 17th | 30th of December | Askasleikir | [ 'askaˌslεiˑcɪr̥ ] | Food bowls, tries to poke the food bowls that have been left standing |
December 18th | December 31 | Hurðaskellir | [ 'hʏrðaˌscεtlɪr̥ ] | Slamming doors, annoying people with noise |
19. December | January 1st | Skyrgámur | [ 'scɪ: rˌkauˑmʏr̥ ] | Quark yaw throat, delighting the Icelandic skim milk curd Skyr |
20th of December | January 2nd | Bjúgnakrækir | [ 'pjuknaˌkʰraiˑcɪr̥ ] | Wurstibitzer, fish the smoked sausages from the chimney |
21st December | January 3rd | Gluggagægir | [ 'klʏkːaˌcaiˑjɪr̥ ] | Window gawkers, peering into the warm rooms with big eyes |
December 22 | January 4th | Gáttaþefur | [ 'kauhtaˌθεˑvʏr̥ ] | Door slot sniffer, you can recognize him by his long nose |
23rd of December | January 5th | Ketkrókur | [ 'cʰε: tʰˌkʰrouˑkʏr̥ ] | Meat claw, gets his part from the Christmas roast |
24th of December | 6th January | Kertasníkir | [ cʰεr̥taˌsniˑcɪr̥ ] | Candlestick, targeting the tallow candles |
Web links
- Bernd Hammerschmidt: The thirteen Christmas journeymen from the highlands: Christmas customs in Iceland . University of Iceland website , November 8, 1999
- Jólasveinar . Julius Juliusons' website "Jólavefur Júlla 2012" (including the poem; Icelandic)
- Jólasveinar Þjóðminjasafnsins. (No longer available online.) Ismennt.is, archived from the original on December 16, 2012 ; Retrieved December 16, 2017 (Icelandic).
- Ragnar Eythorsson: Jólasveinar 2002 . December 23, 2002 (modern version; Icelandic)
- The 13 Icelandic Santas . InReykjavik.is, December 11, 2017
- Rudolf Hermann: How Iceland's Christmas gnomes became tame and friendly . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , December 21, 2015