The Tale of The Yuletide Lads

  • Shihui Yang
Sparked by amazement, The Tale of The Yuletide Lads is inspired by a trip to Iceland. Iceland is a country which I have had heard of but knew nothing about. Not a fan of the cold, the sole reason I embarked on this journey to the icy nordic island was to catch the amazing northern lights. Although, unfortunately, I did not get the chance to see it despite trying my luck twice, it was a memorable trip and a discovery of this magical island. Due to the fact that the northern lights can only be seen in low light condition, I had to be on a tour with professional tour guide to bring us to specific location to catch it. When we were on our way there, I was genuinely amused by the Icelandic myths/folklores that the tour guide was telling and I really love them. One of them is that there are 13 Santa Clauses in Iceland and they are called Jólasveinarnir, Yuletide Lads. After knowing them, I came to realise that they are the ‘seven dwarfs look-alike people’ that I saw around souvenir stores. I was so drawn and amused by this magical and mysterious myth that I went on to further research on the background of it and this book is born intending to increase awareness of the fascinating myth from this mysterious island. It includes two articles from a Icelandic magazine, The Reykjavík Grapevine, and poem, Jólasveinarnir, written by Icelandic poet Jóhannes úr Kötlum, English translation by Hallberg Hallmundsson.