Icelandic Yule Lads

These are characters from #folklore who have become #Iceland's version of #SantaClaus.

Originally depicted as being pranksters, they are said to be the sons of the trolls Grýla and Leppalúði. They are often depicted with the Yuletide Cat, which used to eat children who didn’t have new clothes for #Christmas.

In modern times the Yule Lads put small gifts (or potatoes for a naughty child) into children's shoes placed in their window the thirteen nights before Christmas Eve.