December 8, 2025 • 21 mins
The winter sun barely lifts in Iceland, and that thin light is perfect for a story with real teeth. We head north to meet Gryla, the towering giantess who hunts misbehaving children, her thirteen chaotic Yule Lads who sneak into kitchens and barns one night at a time, and the legendary Yule Cat that devours anyone who didn’t earn new clothes by year’s end. It’s a festive world built on volcanic rock, long shadows, and the blunt lesson that survival in winter is a team sport.
We trace how these legends formed in a landscape of scarcity, where chores weren’t busywork but lifelines. Gryla isn’t softened into a mascot; she remains a consequence with a face. The Yule Lads, from Spoon Licker to Window Peeper, turn everyday temptations into quick parables about waste, privacy, and respect. The Yule Cat, huge as a house, reframes a simple gift—socks or a sweater—as proof of contribution and care. Along the way, we draw lines to Krampus, Hansel and Gretel, and modern pop culture nods, showing how different cultures remix the same winter alarm bells.
Today, Iceland has gentled the Lads into shoe-gift givers, but the stories still carry their winter edge. We talk about why that matters: how fear plus humor keeps the lessons sticky, why clothing gifts endure as a tradition with meaning, and how families can use folklore to spark real conversations about work, community, and staying warm together—literally and figuratively. It’s cozy, creepy, and surprisingly practical.
If this kind of folklore lights your fire, share the episode with a friend, subscribe on your favorite app, and leave a quick review to help others find the show. Got Icelandic roots or a family legend to add? Email us at holdmysweettea podcast at gmail.com and tell us your tale.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
In Iceland, the winter sun barely skims the
horizon.
Shadows stretch longer than theday itself.
And on those frozen nights,families whisper an old warning
Behave or Gryla will hear you.
This is Hold My Sweet Tea.
(00:57):
And I'm Pearl.
And today we're we're gonnatravel to Iceland.
Woohoo! I don't know if that wasthe greeting for Iceland.
SPEAKER_00 (01:06):
It just sounded good.
We have 93 followers on YouTube.
Yay! I'm so so excited.
Creeping up.
Yes.
So share with your grandmastill.
Because I think grandma ain'tdone it.
Y'all go help grandma.
SPEAKER_01 (01:24):
Tell grandma this is how you do it, and you hit this
button right here.
Follow.
That's it.
SPEAKER_00 (01:29):
That's it, Grandma.
Good job, grandma.
Don't get run over by areindeer.
It is that time of year.
SPEAKER_01 (01:37):
You gotta keep grandma in check so she does not
get run over by a reindeer.
SPEAKER_00 (01:41):
Y'all protect your grandma's for Christmas.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Iceland.
SPEAKER_01 (01:49):
Iceland.
You know, it's cold.
Yeah, it's it's cold.
And it's Christmassy.
Like when you think of liketraditional Christmas, I mean,
Iceland's right up there, youknow, with the whole Christmas
theme.
Pull out my Christmas themelist.
That's right.
But we're gonna travel to thevolcanic fjords and black rock
(02:12):
mountains of Iceland.
No fun.
Christmas isn't just wrapped inlike ribbons and warm cocoa.
In their tradition, it's alsowrapped in fear and lessons.
SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
We're all about the fear and lessons.
That's right.
SPEAKER_01 (02:30):
I'm pulling out all of the folklore this holiday
season.
Here's all your fear.
SPEAKER_00 (02:37):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (02:38):
Your creepsness fear.
Exactly.
And they're they're watched overby 13 mischievous brothers, a
monstrous giantess, and a catthat devours the poor.
We got we got 15 characters inthis, because 13 brothers.
(03:02):
So there we go.
SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
Sweet, sweet, sweet.
SPEAKER_01 (03:06):
This is the legend of Gryla and the Yule Lads and
the Yule Cat.
So long before Christmas evenexisted in Iceland, the land was
like, of course, alive withstories.
Creatures that roam the lavafields.
There, like the lava fieldsthere, it just it's these, like
(03:29):
I said, black rocks, and it justlooks like twisted, gnarled like
things.
Like you when you look at theclouds and you're like, ooh, I
see you know pictures of this.
Like when you look at thoselava, you can see, and some of
them look like like demons orsomething like that.
SPEAKER_00 (03:44):
So is that that weird curly thing that uh Jack
Skellington stands on?
Probably so.
Probably so.
It's it's some Icelandic blackrock.
SPEAKER_01 (03:57):
But you know, you look in the flames of the fire
and you see like dancing demonsand it so people's imaginations
stories circulate throughIcelandic lore lore, and this is
like as early as the 13thcentury.
SPEAKER_00 (04:14):
They make a new song, Christmas is here, demons
appear.
And a cat and a mean giant lady.
SPEAKER_01 (04:29):
But you know, again, they they had nothing more to do
but to sit in their little homeswith snow like covering the
windows and a small fire going.
SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
So what are they gonna do but tell each other
stories, exactly terriblethings?
Exactly.
So more reason to not gooutside.
SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
Exactly.
Because it's it's damn coldoutside.
So it was all about survivalthen.
So among one of those tales wasGryla.
She is described as a fearsometroll woman, a creature who
wandered the wilderness insearch of disobedient children.
SPEAKER_00 (05:15):
So me every day when I wake up.
SPEAKER_01 (05:16):
Yes.
Where's those kids?
She is described as a giantess,she's enormous, she has hooves
instead of feet, she has tangledhair with like ice and earth and
leaves and all kinds of stuff inthere, and a voice like a
(05:41):
grinding stone.
Um, she's rough.
She's been through some stuff.
Like they didn't describe her assubtle, like she they went all
out.
And when she heard a childmisbehaved, she didn't lecture
them, she came straight forthem.
She carried a massive sack madeof stitched animal hides, and
(06:05):
inside it were the children shewould take.
She would drag them back to hercave in the mountains, which was
an enormous, like, dark cavernbeneath the lava rock, where she
would make a stew from theunfortunate souls she collected.
And pick her teeth with theirbones.
(06:26):
Yes.
She's like, that was tasty.
But they said that she had likeuh a hunger that was like no
other because she would hide inher cave all year and then she
would only come out during theSo she had like opposite
hibernation, like a weirdhibernation.
Yes, so she summer hibernatedand then she was out in the
(06:46):
winter.
She's like, I'm starving and I'mgoing after these misbehaving
children.
Is the season to feed me?
Yep.
She was hunger incarnate.
There we go.
So around the 17th century,Iceland blended like some older
pagan beliefs with newerChristmas traditions.
(07:07):
And Gorilla suddenly gained likecompany.
13 sons to be exact, named theYule Lads.
So these are her children?
They're I guess they were herchildren.
Oh my goodness.
Okay.
So she was like eating children,but these were her kids.
Yeah.
So these 13 boys that were theyweren't cheerful little elves
(07:33):
working in a workshop.
They were mischievous littlechits.
Where's where's Troll Daddy?
Troll Daddy was said to be alazy, incompetent husband, and
she got tired of his crap, soshe killed him and ate him too.
Oh.
Yeah.
unknown (07:52):
Well.
SPEAKER_01 (07:55):
So originally these, you know, Yule lads were like
dangerous night walkers, homeinvaders, troublemakers.
And these are little dudes,right?
Yeah.
Like they're the opposite.
Of her.
She was a giantess, so thesewere like smaller, mischievous
little little dudes.
SPEAKER_00 (08:10):
Dudes.
SPEAKER_01 (08:11):
Yeah.
So some of them, I'm gonna gothrough a few of them.
So there was like Golly Gawk.
He hid in ravines.
He waited to sneak into barnsand steal fresh milk.
There was Stubby, a smallgoblin-like lad who crept into
kitchens to steal crust frompans.
(08:35):
They were all about gettingfood, you know, for survival.
Um, spoon licker.
What a name.
He was gaunt and starvinglooking, and he waited for a
chance to lick the last bits offood off of wooden spoons.
SPEAKER_00 (08:49):
Well, that's his problem.
Right.
That's why you're so skinny.
Since he was so picky about whathe was getting.
Right.
Gotta be the last bit of stuffon some wooden spoons.
I guess you are skinny.
SPEAKER_01 (09:01):
Right.
And then there was windowpeeper.
Oh.
He he was very tall and hestood, he was stare through
windows searching for somethingto steal, or you know, perhaps
something else.
Who knows?
SPEAKER_00 (09:13):
Well, there's a special place in H.E.
Double hockey sticks for himwhere he can pick his own
pineapple.
SPEAKER_01 (09:21):
And, you know, that was just a few of them, but each
night, beginning December 12th,one Yule lad descended from the
mountains and wandered theIcelandic homes.
And behind them, always lurking,always watching, was their
mother Gryla.
(09:41):
So they would descend.
So this is one at a time?
Right, one at a time.
SPEAKER_00 (09:45):
So not 13 chaotic little lads running everywhere.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (09:51):
So as if the 13 lads and the child stealing giantess
weren't enough, Icelandicfolklore added one more
creature, which was the YuleCat.
SPEAKER_00 (10:04):
I mean, every family needs a pet.
Right.
That's what I'm saying.
Makes sense.
SPEAKER_01 (10:09):
I have two Yule cats.
But this was no ordinary farmcat.
It was monstrous, like the sizeof a house.
It's glowing eyes and fur blackas volcanic ash.
SPEAKER_00 (10:23):
Well, it has to be.
Gryla's huge.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (10:26):
So this is a huge cat.
It stalked through the snow onChristmas Eve.
Yule cat's hunger had a veryspecific target, though.
Anyone who didn't receive newclothing for Christmas, that was
its target.
SPEAKER_00 (10:44):
Oh, well.
I'm sorry.
That's why it's eating poorpeople.
SPEAKER_01 (10:49):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (10:50):
Makes total sense.
Y'all should be wrapping up somesocks or something.
Some new socks with a hole init.
So the whole show.
SPEAKER_01 (10:57):
Don't complain when you get clothes for Christmas.
Right.
Because you were just sparedfrom the Yule cat eating you.
Someone saved your life withthose underwear.
That's right.
And you know, it sounds strange,but centuries ago, new clothing
meant you had worked hard duringthe autumn harvest.
If you hadn't, the cat would seeyou as lazy, and laziness in
(11:21):
winter is deadly.
So parents warn their children,do your chores or you'll be
eaten by the Christmas cat.
And while the cat watched thevalleys, Gryla listened from the
mountains, smelling the air formisbehaved children.
So they were all in cahoots witheach other.
If you're bad, yep.
SPEAKER_00 (11:43):
Or if you're poor, that's your ass.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (11:47):
Exactly.
If you didn't work hard and youwere lazy, that's your ass.
If you misbehaved, guy was gonnaget you and eat you in a stoop.
And if this kind of soundsfamiliar, if you watch The
Chilling Adventures of Sabrinaand they were burning the Yule
log, and you know Aunt Hilda hadsaid, don't let the log go out,
(12:13):
because it's a bad thing.
So it had to burn for 12 nights.
So it's the 12 nights ofChristmas.
So Christianity kind of tookthat and turned it into the 12
nights of Christmas, which iswhere the song comes from, on
the you know, blah blah blah.
So on that, Gryla was more of awitch on that episode.
And the Yule lads, you neverseen them, but you've seen them
(12:35):
and she was terrible looking,right?
Causing mischief all over theirhouse.
They would steal things.
They even stole um baby Letitia,remember?
Yes.
Yep.
Yeah.
But they didn't have the Yulecat on there, because you know,
of course, nobody could upstageSalem.
No.
SPEAKER_00 (12:51):
Why would they do that?
SPEAKER_01 (12:53):
Right.
But that's where, you know, ifit sounds familiar, that was
kind of adapted from thisIcelandic.
SPEAKER_00 (13:02):
And I feel like that's the thing with most
folklore and stuff.
It they derive from one another.
Like you hear one story overhere, and then someone turns it
and makes it fit in theirculture somehow, somehow.
You know, so it's they're allsimilar in nature.
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (13:24):
So every Christmas season, Icelandic storytellers
told about Gryla awakening hercave, sharpening her knives.
She could taste the cold air andshe could count the hunger for
the children.
She could count the children whohad misbehaved.
So then the Yule asks.
SPEAKER_00 (13:44):
Oh, you can count them with their smell.
That's gross.
SPEAKER_01 (13:48):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (13:49):
And by tasting the air, she was like, I thought you
were gonna say something about anice Chiante.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (13:59):
That's what she had.
She she mixed in some fava beansand a nice Chianti.
She was like, yes.
So that's uh so the Yule lads,like I said, would adventure
ahead of her creeping intotowns, stealing food, spying on
homes, causing chaos.
But they all had a purpose.
They would tell Gryla where tofind the children.
SPEAKER_00 (14:21):
I was about to say, are they just like tattletales
and they're just being likelittle mischievous badasses,
badasses?
Because they're they're not likeeating people, they're just
stealing their food.
They're like, cool, you'remisbehaving.
I can eat all of this becauseyou're gonna be dead tomorrow
anyway.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (14:37):
So she would descend after them, her footsteps or her
hoof steps, you know, shakingthe frozen ground, her sack open
and waiting.
And when the wind roared downthe mountains, parents would
whisper, listen, that's grylesshunger.
And the children would be like,you know, and her stomach must
(14:58):
sound like mine.
Right.
She's like, I'm hungry.
Where's these bad children?
Get in my belly.
Right.
You know, and today Icelandcelebrates, still celebrates the
Yule Lads in a much morefriendly way.
They leave like small gifts inchildren's shoes, and their
(15:19):
stories are told with more humorand charm.
SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
Like licked wooden spoons.
SPEAKER_01 (15:23):
Yeah, right.
And like how we leave stockings,like they leave their shoes, so
they get little gifts and nutsand fruits and little things in
their shoes.
But you know, Gryla alwaysremains a monster.
It's just like Krampus.
He was the bad to the good ofSt.
Nicholas, so you know, Krampusis gonna get you, but Gryla will
(15:45):
get you.
So, like Gryla and Krampus,maybe they were like cousins.
Maybe you should have hooked up,like they could have caused like
severe chaos.
SPEAKER_00 (15:57):
I mean, they both had sacks, fought fought over
the kids in the right.
SPEAKER_01 (16:02):
He's like, I'm gonna throw them in the river.
She's like, The hell you are.
I'm eating that one tonight.
SPEAKER_00 (16:06):
Throwing them in the pot.
SPEAKER_01 (16:08):
Sorry.
Right?
Poking them in the bat.
And maybe that's where likeHansel and Gretel came from, you
know, the whole tale of thewitch and eating children and
fattening them up andeverything.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (16:21):
Stick out your finger so I can tell if you're
plump yet.
SPEAKER_01 (16:25):
And but like in Icelandic folklore, they never
like softened the story aboutGryla.
So she never turned into likethe harmless Christmas mascot or
whatever, like elves, like, ooh,elf on a shelf.
No, the Yule lads are stilllittle assholes.
Uh, she's still a child eatingogre, and the Yule cat still
(16:46):
prowls the holiday displaysevery winter.
And it's still tradition therethat they get clothes on
Christmas.
I usually do buy something.
I do too.
I always buy somethingclothing-wise.
Or like something you need,something you want, you know,
like type thing.
Some shit I can't afford.
Some stuff I can't afford.
(17:07):
There we go.
But you know, some of it'spractical, some of it's not.
SPEAKER_00 (17:13):
It's like the like wedding tradition, something
old, something new, and I'm overhere going, something you need,
something you want, something Ican't afford.
Right.
unknown (17:23):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (17:24):
Spend the rest of the year paying that off.
SPEAKER_01 (17:27):
But, you know, if you've heard of anything about
Icelandic traditions, or if youare one of our Icelandic
listeners and you need tocorrect me on anything and you
need to tell me about more aboutGryla.
Please do.
The Yule lads and the Yule Cat.
Please do.
SPEAKER_00 (17:44):
Yeah.
We will love to hear it.
For sure.
Yep, for sure.
And you can do that by emailingus at holdmysweettea podcast at
gmail.com.
Absolutely.
You can also message us on allthe social medias.
And don't forget to get yourgrandma to subscribe to our
(18:05):
YouTube.
Yep.
That's important.
Absolutely.
Icelandic grandmas can subscribeto.
But you know who wouldn't eatchildren?
Um, um, no.
No, I'm just kidding.
Patty's gonna be so mad.
I would I mean, no, I don'tthink Patty would eat children,
(18:29):
but I also just want to givelike some extra condolences for
that.
Absolutely.
Baby dog.
Yeah.
She lost her poor puppy, andshe's had she had her a really
long time.
Yep.
And she was very special, baby.
unknown (18:45):
Yep.
SPEAKER_00 (18:45):
Well, Nikita.
Nikita Dorito.
SPEAKER_01 (18:51):
Yeah, she had she had a really full name for
Nikita.
A very full name that I can'teven remember off the top of my
head.
But yeah, we're so sorry.
SPEAKER_00 (19:01):
Yeah, it sucks.
She was a good dog.
SPEAKER_01 (19:03):
She's sweet.
She made our theme music and itis wonderful, and we thank her.
Absolutely.
Yep.
SPEAKER_00 (19:10):
And she she m made him pretty little bibit who
absolutely that's one of herYule ads.
Yeah.
She has her own Yule ad.
That's right.
Or count.
Yeah.
Whatever he may be in themoment.
SPEAKER_01 (19:26):
But if you, you know, have any traditional
stories in your family fromwhere they're from or anything,
I like we said, let us hear it.
And as always, Hold My Sweet Teais a drunken bee production.
And you guys stay safe outthere.
Stay warm.
SPEAKER_00 (19:45):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:46):
And dry.
Because it's raining here a lot.
And make sure clothing is in themix for Christmas for whatever
you celebrate.
SPEAKER_00 (19:54):
Yeah, don't get your jewel or don't get your friends
and your kids ate by the YuleCat.
That's right.
That your cat will eat.
That is part of staying safe outthere.
SPEAKER_01 (20:05):
Exactly.
And just because we're dippingdoesn't mean you can't keep
sipping.
Bye.
unknown (20:11):
Meow, you can't get a lot of people.
In Iceland, the winter sun barely skims the
horizon.
Shadows stretch longer than theday itself.
And on those frozen nights,families whisper an old warning
Behave or Gryla will hear you.
This is Hold My Sweet Tea.
(00:57):
And I'm Pearl.
And today we're we're gonnatravel to Iceland.
Woohoo! I don't know if that wasthe greeting for Iceland.
SPEAKER_00 (01:06):
It just sounded good.
We have 93 followers on YouTube.
Yay! I'm so so excited.
Creeping up.
Yes.
So share with your grandmastill.
Because I think grandma ain'tdone it.
Y'all go help grandma.
SPEAKER_01 (01:24):
Tell grandma this is how you do it, and you hit this
button right here.
Follow.
That's it.
SPEAKER_00 (01:29):
That's it, Grandma.
Good job, grandma.
Don't get run over by areindeer.
It is that time of year.
SPEAKER_01 (01:37):
You gotta keep grandma in check so she does not
get run over by a reindeer.
SPEAKER_00 (01:41):
Y'all protect your grandma's for Christmas.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Iceland.
SPEAKER_01 (01:49):
Iceland.
You know, it's cold.
Yeah, it's it's cold.
And it's Christmassy.
Like when you think of liketraditional Christmas, I mean,
Iceland's right up there, youknow, with the whole Christmas
theme.
Pull out my Christmas themelist.
That's right.
But we're gonna travel to thevolcanic fjords and black rock
(02:12):
mountains of Iceland.
No fun.
Christmas isn't just wrapped inlike ribbons and warm cocoa.
In their tradition, it's alsowrapped in fear and lessons.
SPEAKER_00 (02:27):
We're all about the fear and lessons.
That's right.
SPEAKER_01 (02:30):
I'm pulling out all of the folklore this holiday
season.
Here's all your fear.
SPEAKER_00 (02:37):
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (02:38):
Your creepsness fear.
Exactly.
And they're they're watched overby 13 mischievous brothers, a
monstrous giantess, and a catthat devours the poor.
We got we got 15 characters inthis, because 13 brothers.
(03:02):
So there we go.
SPEAKER_00 (03:04):
Sweet, sweet, sweet.
SPEAKER_01 (03:06):
This is the legend of Gryla and the Yule Lads and
the Yule Cat.
So long before Christmas evenexisted in Iceland, the land was
like, of course, alive withstories.
Creatures that roam the lavafields.
There, like the lava fieldsthere, it just it's these, like
(03:29):
I said, black rocks, and it justlooks like twisted, gnarled like
things.
Like you when you look at theclouds and you're like, ooh, I
see you know pictures of this.
Like when you look at thoselava, you can see, and some of
them look like like demons orsomething like that.
SPEAKER_00 (03:44):
So is that that weird curly thing that uh Jack
Skellington stands on?
Probably so.
Probably so.
It's it's some Icelandic blackrock.
SPEAKER_01 (03:57):
But you know, you look in the flames of the fire
and you see like dancing demonsand it so people's imaginations
stories circulate throughIcelandic lore lore, and this is
like as early as the 13thcentury.
SPEAKER_00 (04:14):
They make a new song, Christmas is here, demons
appear.
And a cat and a mean giant lady.
SPEAKER_01 (04:29):
But you know, again, they they had nothing more to do
but to sit in their little homeswith snow like covering the
windows and a small fire going.
SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
So what are they gonna do but tell each other
stories, exactly terriblethings?
Exactly.
So more reason to not gooutside.
SPEAKER_01 (04:53):
Exactly.
Because it's it's damn coldoutside.
So it was all about survivalthen.
So among one of those tales wasGryla.
She is described as a fearsometroll woman, a creature who
wandered the wilderness insearch of disobedient children.
SPEAKER_00 (05:15):
So me every day when I wake up.
SPEAKER_01 (05:16):
Yes.
Where's those kids?
She is described as a giantess,she's enormous, she has hooves
instead of feet, she has tangledhair with like ice and earth and
leaves and all kinds of stuff inthere, and a voice like a
(05:41):
grinding stone.
Um, she's rough.
She's been through some stuff.
Like they didn't describe her assubtle, like she they went all
out.
And when she heard a childmisbehaved, she didn't lecture
them, she came straight forthem.
She carried a massive sack madeof stitched animal hides, and
(06:05):
inside it were the children shewould take.
She would drag them back to hercave in the mountains, which was
an enormous, like, dark cavernbeneath the lava rock, where she
would make a stew from theunfortunate souls she collected.
And pick her teeth with theirbones.
(06:26):
Yes.
She's like, that was tasty.
But they said that she had likeuh a hunger that was like no
other because she would hide inher cave all year and then she
would only come out during theSo she had like opposite
hibernation, like a weirdhibernation.
Yes, so she summer hibernatedand then she was out in the
(06:46):
winter.
She's like, I'm starving and I'mgoing after these misbehaving
children.
Is the season to feed me?
Yep.
She was hunger incarnate.
There we go.
So around the 17th century,Iceland blended like some older
pagan beliefs with newerChristmas traditions.
(07:07):
And Gorilla suddenly gained likecompany.
13 sons to be exact, named theYule Lads.
So these are her children?
They're I guess they were herchildren.
Oh my goodness.
Okay.
So she was like eating children,but these were her kids.
Yeah.
So these 13 boys that were theyweren't cheerful little elves
(07:33):
working in a workshop.
They were mischievous littlechits.
Where's where's Troll Daddy?
Troll Daddy was said to be alazy, incompetent husband, and
she got tired of his crap, soshe killed him and ate him too.
Oh.
Yeah.
unknown (07:52):
Well.
SPEAKER_01 (07:55):
So originally these, you know, Yule lads were like
dangerous night walkers, homeinvaders, troublemakers.
And these are little dudes,right?
Yeah.
Like they're the opposite.
Of her.
She was a giantess, so thesewere like smaller, mischievous
little little dudes.
SPEAKER_00 (08:10):
Dudes.
SPEAKER_01 (08:11):
Yeah.
So some of them, I'm gonna gothrough a few of them.
So there was like Golly Gawk.
He hid in ravines.
He waited to sneak into barnsand steal fresh milk.
There was Stubby, a smallgoblin-like lad who crept into
kitchens to steal crust frompans.
(08:35):
They were all about gettingfood, you know, for survival.
Um, spoon licker.
What a name.
He was gaunt and starvinglooking, and he waited for a
chance to lick the last bits offood off of wooden spoons.
SPEAKER_00 (08:49):
Well, that's his problem.
Right.
That's why you're so skinny.
Since he was so picky about whathe was getting.
Right.
Gotta be the last bit of stuffon some wooden spoons.
I guess you are skinny.
SPEAKER_01 (09:01):
Right.
And then there was windowpeeper.
Oh.
He he was very tall and hestood, he was stare through
windows searching for somethingto steal, or you know, perhaps
something else.
Who knows?
SPEAKER_00 (09:13):
Well, there's a special place in H.E.
Double hockey sticks for himwhere he can pick his own
pineapple.
SPEAKER_01 (09:21):
And, you know, that was just a few of them, but each
night, beginning December 12th,one Yule lad descended from the
mountains and wandered theIcelandic homes.
And behind them, always lurking,always watching, was their
mother Gryla.
(09:41):
So they would descend.
So this is one at a time?
Right, one at a time.
SPEAKER_00 (09:45):
So not 13 chaotic little lads running everywhere.
Okay.
SPEAKER_01 (09:51):
So as if the 13 lads and the child stealing giantess
weren't enough, Icelandicfolklore added one more
creature, which was the YuleCat.
SPEAKER_00 (10:04):
I mean, every family needs a pet.
Right.
That's what I'm saying.
Makes sense.
SPEAKER_01 (10:09):
I have two Yule cats.
But this was no ordinary farmcat.
It was monstrous, like the sizeof a house.
It's glowing eyes and fur blackas volcanic ash.
SPEAKER_00 (10:23):
Well, it has to be.
Gryla's huge.
Right.
SPEAKER_01 (10:26):
So this is a huge cat.
It stalked through the snow onChristmas Eve.
Yule cat's hunger had a veryspecific target, though.
Anyone who didn't receive newclothing for Christmas, that was
its target.
SPEAKER_00 (10:44):
Oh, well.
I'm sorry.
That's why it's eating poorpeople.
SPEAKER_01 (10:49):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (10:50):
Makes total sense.
Y'all should be wrapping up somesocks or something.
Some new socks with a hole init.
So the whole show.
SPEAKER_01 (10:57):
Don't complain when you get clothes for Christmas.
Right.
Because you were just sparedfrom the Yule cat eating you.
Someone saved your life withthose underwear.
That's right.
And you know, it sounds strange,but centuries ago, new clothing
meant you had worked hard duringthe autumn harvest.
If you hadn't, the cat would seeyou as lazy, and laziness in
(11:21):
winter is deadly.
So parents warn their children,do your chores or you'll be
eaten by the Christmas cat.
And while the cat watched thevalleys, Gryla listened from the
mountains, smelling the air formisbehaved children.
So they were all in cahoots witheach other.
If you're bad, yep.
SPEAKER_00 (11:43):
Or if you're poor, that's your ass.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (11:47):
Exactly.
If you didn't work hard and youwere lazy, that's your ass.
If you misbehaved, guy was gonnaget you and eat you in a stoop.
And if this kind of soundsfamiliar, if you watch The
Chilling Adventures of Sabrinaand they were burning the Yule
log, and you know Aunt Hilda hadsaid, don't let the log go out,
(12:13):
because it's a bad thing.
So it had to burn for 12 nights.
So it's the 12 nights ofChristmas.
So Christianity kind of tookthat and turned it into the 12
nights of Christmas, which iswhere the song comes from, on
the you know, blah blah blah.
So on that, Gryla was more of awitch on that episode.
And the Yule lads, you neverseen them, but you've seen them
(12:35):
and she was terrible looking,right?
Causing mischief all over theirhouse.
They would steal things.
They even stole um baby Letitia,remember?
Yes.
Yep.
Yeah.
But they didn't have the Yulecat on there, because you know,
of course, nobody could upstageSalem.
No.
SPEAKER_00 (12:51):
Why would they do that?
SPEAKER_01 (12:53):
Right.
But that's where, you know, ifit sounds familiar, that was
kind of adapted from thisIcelandic.
SPEAKER_00 (13:02):
And I feel like that's the thing with most
folklore and stuff.
It they derive from one another.
Like you hear one story overhere, and then someone turns it
and makes it fit in theirculture somehow, somehow.
You know, so it's they're allsimilar in nature.
Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01 (13:24):
So every Christmas season, Icelandic storytellers
told about Gryla awakening hercave, sharpening her knives.
She could taste the cold air andshe could count the hunger for
the children.
She could count the children whohad misbehaved.
So then the Yule asks.
SPEAKER_00 (13:44):
Oh, you can count them with their smell.
That's gross.
SPEAKER_01 (13:48):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (13:49):
And by tasting the air, she was like, I thought you
were gonna say something about anice Chiante.
Yep.
SPEAKER_01 (13:59):
That's what she had.
She she mixed in some fava beansand a nice Chianti.
She was like, yes.
So that's uh so the Yule lads,like I said, would adventure
ahead of her creeping intotowns, stealing food, spying on
homes, causing chaos.
But they all had a purpose.
They would tell Gryla where tofind the children.
SPEAKER_00 (14:21):
I was about to say, are they just like tattletales
and they're just being likelittle mischievous badasses,
badasses?
Because they're they're not likeeating people, they're just
stealing their food.
They're like, cool, you'remisbehaving.
I can eat all of this becauseyou're gonna be dead tomorrow
anyway.
Exactly.
SPEAKER_01 (14:37):
So she would descend after them, her footsteps or her
hoof steps, you know, shakingthe frozen ground, her sack open
and waiting.
And when the wind roared downthe mountains, parents would
whisper, listen, that's grylesshunger.
And the children would be like,you know, and her stomach must
(14:58):
sound like mine.
Right.
She's like, I'm hungry.
Where's these bad children?
Get in my belly.
Right.
You know, and today Icelandcelebrates, still celebrates the
Yule Lads in a much morefriendly way.
They leave like small gifts inchildren's shoes, and their
(15:19):
stories are told with more humorand charm.
SPEAKER_00 (15:21):
Like licked wooden spoons.
SPEAKER_01 (15:23):
Yeah, right.
And like how we leave stockings,like they leave their shoes, so
they get little gifts and nutsand fruits and little things in
their shoes.
But you know, Gryla alwaysremains a monster.
It's just like Krampus.
He was the bad to the good ofSt.
Nicholas, so you know, Krampusis gonna get you, but Gryla will
(15:45):
get you.
So, like Gryla and Krampus,maybe they were like cousins.
Maybe you should have hooked up,like they could have caused like
severe chaos.
SPEAKER_00 (15:57):
I mean, they both had sacks, fought fought over
the kids in the right.
SPEAKER_01 (16:02):
He's like, I'm gonna throw them in the river.
She's like, The hell you are.
I'm eating that one tonight.
SPEAKER_00 (16:06):
Throwing them in the pot.
SPEAKER_01 (16:08):
Sorry.
Right?
Poking them in the bat.
And maybe that's where likeHansel and Gretel came from, you
know, the whole tale of thewitch and eating children and
fattening them up andeverything.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (16:21):
Stick out your finger so I can tell if you're
plump yet.
SPEAKER_01 (16:25):
And but like in Icelandic folklore, they never
like softened the story aboutGryla.
So she never turned into likethe harmless Christmas mascot or
whatever, like elves, like, ooh,elf on a shelf.
No, the Yule lads are stilllittle assholes.
Uh, she's still a child eatingogre, and the Yule cat still
(16:46):
prowls the holiday displaysevery winter.
And it's still tradition therethat they get clothes on
Christmas.
I usually do buy something.
I do too.
I always buy somethingclothing-wise.
Or like something you need,something you want, you know,
like type thing.
Some shit I can't afford.
Some stuff I can't afford.
(17:07):
There we go.
But you know, some of it'spractical, some of it's not.
SPEAKER_00 (17:13):
It's like the like wedding tradition, something
old, something new, and I'm overhere going, something you need,
something you want, something Ican't afford.
Right.
unknown (17:23):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (17:24):
Spend the rest of the year paying that off.
SPEAKER_01 (17:27):
But, you know, if you've heard of anything about
Icelandic traditions, or if youare one of our Icelandic
listeners and you need tocorrect me on anything and you
need to tell me about more aboutGryla.
Please do.
The Yule lads and the Yule Cat.
Please do.
SPEAKER_00 (17:44):
Yeah.
We will love to hear it.
For sure.
Yep, for sure.
And you can do that by emailingus at holdmysweettea podcast at
gmail.com.
Absolutely.
You can also message us on allthe social medias.
And don't forget to get yourgrandma to subscribe to our
(18:05):
YouTube.
Yep.
That's important.
Absolutely.
Icelandic grandmas can subscribeto.
But you know who wouldn't eatchildren?
Um, um, no.
No, I'm just kidding.
Patty's gonna be so mad.
I would I mean, no, I don'tthink Patty would eat children,
(18:29):
but I also just want to givelike some extra condolences for
that.
Absolutely.
Baby dog.
Yeah.
She lost her poor puppy, andshe's had she had her a really
long time.
Yep.
And she was very special, baby.
unknown (18:45):
Yep.
SPEAKER_00 (18:45):
Well, Nikita.
Nikita Dorito.
SPEAKER_01 (18:51):
Yeah, she had she had a really full name for
Nikita.
A very full name that I can'teven remember off the top of my
head.
But yeah, we're so sorry.
SPEAKER_00 (19:01):
Yeah, it sucks.
She was a good dog.
SPEAKER_01 (19:03):
She's sweet.
She made our theme music and itis wonderful, and we thank her.
Absolutely.
Yep.
SPEAKER_00 (19:10):
And she she m made him pretty little bibit who
absolutely that's one of herYule ads.
Yeah.
She has her own Yule ad.
That's right.
Or count.
Yeah.
Whatever he may be in themoment.
SPEAKER_01 (19:26):
But if you, you know, have any traditional
stories in your family fromwhere they're from or anything,
I like we said, let us hear it.
And as always, Hold My Sweet Teais a drunken bee production.
And you guys stay safe outthere.
Stay warm.
SPEAKER_00 (19:45):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (19:46):
And dry.
Because it's raining here a lot.
And make sure clothing is in themix for Christmas for whatever
you celebrate.
SPEAKER_00 (19:54):
Yeah, don't get your jewel or don't get your friends
and your kids ate by the YuleCat.
That's right.
That your cat will eat.
That is part of staying safe outthere.
SPEAKER_01 (20:05):
Exactly.
And just because we're dippingdoesn't mean you can't keep
sipping.
Bye.
unknown (20:11):
Meow, you can't get a lot of people.
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