It is now close to the end of 2022. We are all happy about how well this year turned out. Before looking ahead, we want to thank all of you who visited us this year. Many of you came here to Eldhestar and we thoroughly enjoyed serving you, and we hope you had a delightful stay.
These days, the Icelandic Yule lads are making their journey from the mountains. In the old days, they were not the guys we know today. They were both mischievous and thieving, as their names imply. Our Christmas lads are from the race of trolls, the sons of Grýla and Leppalúði, and they bore many of their parents’ flaws.
Most stories about them are usually tell of 13 Christmas lads. For a long time, they were quite unattractive, and children were generally afraid of them. Nowadays, these lads no longer go around robbing the country’s settlements. Instead, they bring gifts to good children and potatoes to the bad ones.
The lads start arriving on the 12th of December. One comes each day, and then they return to the mountains in the same order they came. The last one leaves on the 13th of Christmas (i.e. on the 6th of January). Here below you can see three of them – Ketkrákur (Meat Hook in English) in the middle is supposed to visit the children on the 23rd of December.
A new year lies ahead with new hopes and expectations. We are optimistic that next year will be a good one for travel with many new and exciting challenges.
We wish you, your families, friends, and colleagues a safe and happy holiday season.
The Eldhestar Team