Santa´s father & the Christmas cat (Leppalúði og jólakötturinn)

Hæ hæ (hi, hi)! I find Icelanders sound cheerful when they use this hæ hæ greeting! I have become fond of using this one myself. So, my Christmas tree is up and decorated. I had to keep a little of my tradition this Christmas because otherwise according to Icelandic tradition, our tree wouldn´t go up until the 23rd and wouldn´t be decorated until the 24th. That´s too long for my American girl heart to wait for the Christmas tree! :)

Today´s blog will be short because there is little information on Grýla´s (see yesterday´s blog) 3rd husband.

Here is what I know. He is a troll like creature (pictured above is him Grýla and the cat) just as Grýla is, so maybe that´s their is a mutual troll-like attraction? He lives in the cave with Grýla, the 13 yule lads and their Christmas cat (jólakötturin). Leppalúði is a minor character in this story. His cat is one to be feared. According to my sources, you want to avoid "going to the cat", therefore, you must receive one new article of clothing in time for Christmas. Otherwise, the cat will come after you and eat you. There´s a lot of morbid child munching going on in this story. I´m not so sure how I feel about it but I have a theory of why this cat is included. If you have one too feel free to share. I suppose children´s excitement is not directed towards infamous sweaters and pajamas that are giving at Christmas. Of course as kids we want toys and gadgets. Maybe to get them more excited about grandma´s sweater, the story threatens them with being eaten by a cat.

That´s all for today. Tomorrow the first of the 13 Santa´s comes to town! Shoe in the windowsill...check!