There is also the scary christmas cat to watch for on christmas eve. They have a big, black cat called jolakotturinn (the christmas cat). Just a few of the top icelandic christmas songs are:
A Song About A Monster.
The lyrics to the second, jólasveinar ganga um gólf, are known to virtually every single icelandic child. It first appeared in his book jólin koma (“christmas is coming”), published in 1932 with many subsequent editions and even an english translation published in 2015. The icelandic yule lads live in the highlands with their troll parents, gryla and leppaludi.
This Year, The Fearsome Feline’s Likeness Has Been Captured In A Sculpture That Is 5 Meters [16 Feet] Tall And 6 Meters [19 Feet] Wide And Decorated With 6,500 Led Lights.
The song is björk’s contribution to the `hvit er í borg og bò’ christmas compilation, issued on the hljóðaklettur label in 1987. On the night preceding december 12th icelandic children will put their shoe in the window so that the first of the 13 yule lads (the icelandic santa clauses) can leave a little present in their shoe. They're called jolasveinar in icelandic and named after their characteristics.
Here Are A Few Songs From The Icelandic Christmas Songs Bank ;) The First Song Is About A Girl Who Is Wondering What Is Wrong With The Chimney, There's Somet.
Jóhannes’ poems about the yule lads, grýla and leppalúði, and the yule cat, became an instant. The christmas cat was made famous in a 1932 poem by icelandic poet jóhannes úr kötlum. Björk also recorded a popular version of the song in the late 1980s (listen here).
The Christmas Is ‘Related’ To Scandinavian ‘Christmas Beasts.’
Icelandic christmas celebrations traditionally begin on december 23rd and involve a mix of religious practices and intriguing icelandic mythology. The icelandic christmas cat is first mentioned in written records from the 19th century so he seems in that sense to be a more recent creation than the yule lads. As zarka explains, this local legend comes from folklore, the familiar presence of large, furry cats in icelandic homes, the need for warm clothes and the crucial boost that clothing production gave to the economy.
