20250518_123005R

_123005r.jpg

Day 114, Sunday, May 18 2025 - Akureyri Iceland

Thirteen days before Christmas the first Yule Lad comes to inhabited areas and then a new one arrives every day until the last one arrives on the 24th of December. Icelanders celebrate Christmas on the evening of the 24th of December.

It has been a tradition here in Iceland since 1950 for young kids to leave their best (or biggest) shoe on the windowsill in their bedroom, the first one 13 days before Christmas. The Yule Lad coming to "town" visits all the kids and leaves a small present for them in their shoe. But only if the kids have gone to sleep early and have not behaved badly.

Because, as one knows, the Yule Lads cannot leave you a present if you are awake. A kid who hasn't behaved well on that particular day will find a raw potato in the shoe!

Photo album created with Web Album Generator