Skyr Gobbler
On 19 December we welcome the Yule Lad called Skyr Gobbler. His favourite is an Icelandic dairy product called skyr, which is similar to yogurt. He likes it so much that he used to sneak into the pantry and gobble all the skyr out of the skyr tub. Admission ticket is needed.
The Yule Lads visit the National Museum from the 12th of December until 24th, daily at 11am. They wear their old Icelandic costumes and sing and tell children (and adults) stories.
Skyr Gobbler, the eighth,
was an awful stupid bloke.
He lambasted the skyr tub
till the lid on it broke.
Then he stood there gobbling
- his greed was well known -
until, about to burst,
he would bleat, howl and groan.
The Icelandic jólasveinar (Yuletide Lads) have little connection with the international red-clothed Santa Claus. The Yuletide Lads are descended from trolls, and originally they were bogeymen who were used to scare children. During this century they have mellowed, and they sometimes wear their best, red suits. But they still tend to pilfer and play tricks. They are the sons of two of the most hideous ogres ever known in Iceland, Grýla and Leppalúði.