Icelandic Yule Lads were bad santas that ruined Christmas
Icelanders have their version of Santa Claus. Actually, we have thirteen versions of Santa Claus. Yes! Iceland has thirteen Santa Clauses, called Yule lads (‘Jólasveinar’ in Icelandic). The global trend of gentrification has caught up with them, and now they are a delight to children....
Old-time Icelandic Christmas – dodging trolls, and a kid eating cat
Modern Icelanders love to celebrate Christmas. In a country where people must deal with a long, cold winter, feasting, gift-giving, and merrymaking are welcome distractions. So modern Icelanders go all in for Christmas, or Yule, as we call the festival here. But even if Christmas...
Stuck in Iceland Wrapped for 2023 – thank you dear readers
What a year 2023 was for my Stuck in Iceland Travel magazine. Over 70 thousand people read the magazine, and 5.400 readers signed up for my newsletter. By doing so, they receive discount codes from over 100 tours and travel services from over 40 travel...
Icelandic Christmas cookie recipe – taste Yule like you are in Thule*
Christmas is a big deal here in Iceland. It is mainly the time for families and friends to get together. It is not unusual to be busy meeting people most days in December. Want to have a little taste of Icelandic Christmas wherever you are...
The Icelandic Christmas Cat
The horrible Icelandic Yule lads were a gruesome bunch of trolls that terrorized children and stole food from hungry peasants around Christmas. Their parents were the horrible ogre Grýla who ate naughty children and her bedridden lazy no-good husband Leppaludi. And there was their pet,...
How to Celebrate Icelandic Christmas
Icelanders go big on Christmas. Not only do we like to give big gifts but Icelandic Christmas goes on 13 days. Yes you read that correctly, Icelandic Christmas goes on for 13 days. Like elsewhere in the western world Christmas celebrations and preparations start obnoxiously...
New Year’s Eve in Iceland – celebrate with a bang!
As the readers of this magazine may have discerned, being stuck in Iceland isn’t always so bad. This is especially true for New Year’s Eve in Iceland, a fun night here. The main attraction is the massive fireworks that go on from 11 and beyond...
Join the Icelanders at the bonfire on New Years Eve
Iceland is the place to be on new years eve. A large part of that reason is the spectacular, if uncoordinated fireworks display that is the main feature of the celebrations. There is more pyromania to enjoy however as bonfires are lit all over the...
