Of fairies and flying trees and blog posts that were discarded

So, Christmas officially ended yesterday here in Niceland, with the passing of þrettándinn, meaning 'the thirteenth' - or, in plain old English - Twelfth Night. [Incidentally, I wondered for years why it was called the 12th in English and the 13th in Icelandic ... until I figured out that here in Iceland we celebrate Christmas a day earlier than the Anglo Saxons. D'oh!]

That day - þrettándinn - is traditionally marked with more brennur [at which people dressed up in elf and fairy costumes sometimes appear, so yes, this guy had some of his facts straight. Fireworks displays are held, members of the general populace shoot up any leftover rockets, and also take down their Christmas decorations, making this also a day of flying Christmas trees, as people generally toss them down from their balconies when they're done. From there they are dragged to the sidewalks where bright orange trucks from the City come pick them up to give them a second life as wood chips to be used on walking paths, meaning that anyone who has become overly attached to their tree can go visit it later.

We decided to let our beautiful tree stay up for one extra day because, well, it is just so darn good looking. Plus we had people over for dinner last night and EPI's sister brought a bottle of Veuve Cliquot and, well, you just can't take down a Christmas tree when you're high on Veuve Cliquot. It's just not humanly possible. Trust me. You don't even wanna try.

Anyway. Christmas is over, the sun rises higher in the sky each day, and the New Year stretches ahead like an unwritten blog post. Life is good.

IT'S LOOKING MIGHTY GORGEOUS OUT THERE
Frigid and clear these next few days is what the weatherman is forecasting. Currently -2°C [28F], sunrise was at 11.12 and sunset due for 3.56 pm.

PS - Some of you may be surprised to see that yesterday's post has been pulled. The subject matter turned out to be a bit too flammable and attracted interest from camps that YT had no idea were watching. Potentially this might have harmed not only YT but also someone very close to me. Hence measures were taken.

The Gift that never gets old

In Germany, they have a half-hour TV show that they've aired on New Year's Eve day every year for the past 40 years or so, that is an inextricable part of the tradition over there [and also happens to be one of the few things on TV not dubbed into German].

Mindful of its popularity, and because we love our traditions here at the Weather Report, we give you our own little custom: the same New Year's post as last year and the year before that, and probably next year and the year after that. Because it's our favourite joke. Happy New Year, everyone!!!

THE GIFT

A young man wanted to purchase a gift for his new sweetheart’s birthday, and as they had not been dating very long, after careful consideration, he decided a pair of gloves would strike the right note: romantic, but not too personal.

Accompanied by his sweetheart’s younger sister, he went to Nordstrom and bought a pair of white gloves. The sister purchased a pair of panties for herself. During the wrapping, the clerk mixed up the items and the sister got the gloves and the sweetheart got the panties. Without checking the contents, the young man sealed the package and sent it to his sweetheart with the following note:

“I chose these because I noticed that you are not in the habit of wearing any when we go out in the evening. If it had not been for your sister, I would have chosen the long ones with the buttons, but she wears short ones that are easier to remove.

“These are a delicate shade, but the lady I bought them from showed me the pair she had been wearing for the past three weeks and they were hardly soiled. I had her try yours on for me and she looked really smart.

“I wish I was there to put them on for you the first time, as no doubt other hands will come in contact with them before I have a chance to see you again.

“When you take them off, remember to blow in them before putting them away as they will naturally be a little damp from wearing.

“Just think how many times I will kiss them during the coming year. I hope you will wear them for me on Friday night. All my love.

“P.S. The latest style is to wear them folded down with a little fur showing.”

[PS here's hoping your weather is better than ours. We have storm and all our brennur have been cancelled. Boo.]

After which she put on her faerie costume and went to make steaming drink for the tourists

So the mayhem is underway. The heart-stopping explosions out of nowhere started yesterday ... incredibly startling at first, but quick to become commonplace. I'm talking firecrackers and fireworks being exploded beneath people's windows and in other inappropriate places. If any of you foreigners visiting our fair isle and reading this are wondering why there are not a single trash can in sight and all the outdoor mailboxes are barricaded - that's why. Measures have been taken.

Yes, dear readers, fireworks are sold freely to the general public up here in the days between Christmas and New Year's, although FORTUNATELY there is an age limit of 18 years so of course there is NO WAY for underaged kids to get their hands on them, just as there is NO WAY for them to get their hands on any liquor for New Year's Eve. Meaning that those explosions are almost all generated by adults with their full wits about them [heheh - yah right].

Meanwhile, this e-zine has listed Reykjavic [sic] as one of the ten best places in the world to spend New Year's Eve, right up there with Vegas and downtown Greensboro [?]. Far be it from me to contest this claim, although personally I would have put Reykjavík at number 1 because it hosts, without question, the most superexcellent New Year's Eve party in all the world - the entire city, all of it. However, I must confess I was slightly taken aback by the editor's description of our antics up here on New Year's Eve, to wit:

... the locals celebrate by welcoming tourists into their homes, serving them steaming drink, lighting bonfires and prancing around in elf and faerie costumes. Just like in Lord of the Rings! As a bonus, if the night is clear you'll see the splendor of the Northern Lights as midnight strikes.

First of all, I have to wonder what sort of shit his sources were smokin' because ... elves and faeries? Okay. And, you know, personally I've never known anyone to fling open their doors to tourists to welcome them into their homes to serve them hot drinks ... but then maybe I'm just hanging around with the wrong people. Third, there is not a fricking hope in hell that you'll see the northern lights at midnight on New Year's Eve because a) the skies are absolutely FILLED with exploding fireworks and b) the spaces in between are absolutely FILLED with billowing clouds of smoke from exploding fireworks.

But hey - far be it from me to detract anyone from getting dressed up Just like in Lord of the Rings! but I'm willing to bet that anyone who does will be a tourist who has been reading YES Weekly and thinks this is the way we do it up here. Come to think of it, I hope lots and lots of people do, because, you know, wouldn't that be hilarious? Hordes of tourists all dressed up like elves and faeries, sniffing around the locals' front doors, desperate to be let in for some steaming drink? Bring it on!

MEANWHILE, WE MAY NOT SEE ANY FIREWORKS AT ALL
Because they're forecasting horrific weather for New Year's Eve, meaning all our brennur may be cancelled and people will be advised to stay indoors and absolutely NOT to fire off any rockets that may unwittingly end up inside people's coats or pants legs or nostrils. A bad storm is supposed to come through tomorrow and is supposed to persist on the 31st. Which will be a major drag ... the only good thing I can think of that may come out of it is that my dear stepdaughter who has been here for Christmas and who is supposed to fly back to New York tomorrow will have her flight cancelled and thus will be able to spend New Year's with us. We Shall See. Actually the same sort of weather happened a couple of years ago and all the brennur were moved to New Year's Day, which just wasn't the same. But, whaddaryagonnado. The temps have been inching upwards all day and are now 2°C [36F], sunrise was at 11.22 am and sunset at 3.37 pm.

PS actually to be fair there is old folklore that elves and fairies appear on the Þrettándinn - Twelfth Night, January 6th. There are brennur [bonfires] held on that night also, and in some parts of the country people dress up like the king and queen of the elves and make an appearance at the brennur - for the kids, much like Santa Claus.

Christmas reflections

I feel vaguely guilty. I'd planned to send out a very ceremonious MERRY CHRIMBOS! type of post to all my lovely readers, but instead I've hardly gone near the computer for the past four or five days and it's felt really good. So - a belated happy Christmas, and I hope your Yule was everything you hoped it would be.

Actually, it's hard to believe that only four days have passed since my last post. It feels much longer, which of course is the thing about Christmas - you lose all track of time, or at least I do. I can never remember which day it is or how many days have passed or where exactly in the universe I am positioned, that sort of thing.

It's been a great few days, very eventful, filled with joy and love and friendship, and happily a fair bit of LAZY. There's also been time for reflection, which is good. Earlier today EPI and I were talking about Christmases past, the Christmases of our childhoods, and he was asking me something about how some tradition or other had been in my household. And I had to remind him once again of our differences, which is that EPI had a "household" while growing up, while YT did not. Meaning that EPI had stable childhood and upbringing, a solid family unit, strong traditions at Christmas, etcetera, whereas my Christmases were all very, um, diverse. They were held in various countries, in various households, with various people. I've even spent Christmas alone a couple of times. And, if the truth be told, more often than not I was miserable at Christmas [and not on the ones I spent alone - not at all]. The Christmases I spent with my mother and her husband, for instance, in their icy cold suburban house, getting presents that were the cheapest they could possibly get away with, were absolutely soul-crushing. Just as an example.

So I developed a serious aversion to Christmas, and by the time I entered adulthood I basically put all my emotions on ice in December and just plowed through, hoping it would soon be over. But then, surprisingly, a few years ago my Christmases started to get better, and in the past few years they have been wonderful. A lot of that is about having a loving partner to share them with, and being accepted and incorporated into a strong family unit, which has been amazing for me, not to mention enlightening. Also, letting go of expectations has helped a lot. A couple of years ago I woke up to the fact that I'd let go of expectations about how things were supposed to be, and so I stopped being disappointed and disillusioned when things didn't turn out the way I wanted them to.* What freedom! Now I focus on enjoying things as they come and I only seem to have good experiences. I can't decide whether it was like that in the past too and I just didn't see it, or whether it's because I'm generally much happier and so am attracting happier experiences. Not that it matters.

And now if you'll excuse me I'm going to watch yet another episode of Grey's Anatomy on DVD and relish the fact that I'm my own boss and I've given myself the day off tomorrow.

WE'VE HAD THE MOST PERFECT YULETIDE WEATHER
It started to snow on the 23rd and it's stayed gloriously, magnificently white. I wish you could see how beautiful the city is with the fresh snow and the Yule decorations everywhere [of course some of you know just what I'm talking about]. Right now -1°C [30F] and the sun came up at 11.23, set at 15.33.

* Incidentally, I don't want to give the impression that this just happened automatically. There was a lot of work involved. But somehow I didn't expect that the rewards would be so great.

At the pearly gates

Poor AAH: just when the pressure is on, all her Christmas prezzies still to be bought, and she's scheduled to work back-to-back shifts, she comes down with a case of food poisoning.

She believes a certain Ceasar salad is to blame, eaten at a certain cafe where she works. The day yesterday was alternately spent puking and screaming at the top of her lungs at the pain in her stomach; I wonder what the neighbours think. Probably that she was in labour, because that is about the only thing with which I can equate those screams. Well, that and having her fingernails pulled out slowly with pliers.

Today was slightly better, although she's still walking around hunched over like an old crone. Nonetheless, she managed to surface from her predicament long enough to tell me a joke [what a trouper!]:

These three guys are at the pearly gates, waiting to be admitted into heaven. Saint Peter tells them that, because it's Christmas, they have to have something on them relating to Christmas before he can admit them in.

So the first guy pulls out his lighter, and says, "This lighter represents the light of Christmas."

St. Peter says, "OK, you're in."

The second guy pulls out his keys and says, "These keys jingle like jingle bells."

St. Peter says, "OK, you're in."

The third guy pulls out a pair of women's panties, and says, "These are Carol's."

GORGEOUS DAY, CALM AND COOL
We had some hail this afternoon, enough to turn the ground white. Headed downtown today and everyone was in the Yuletide spirit. Ah, it's nice. Temps right now are -1°C [30F] and sunrise was at 11.22, sunset at 3.30 pm.

Getting the Yule on

Today I spent a full ten minutes in my local fish shop and when I got home I was forced to put every item of clothing I was wearing in the washing machine. Reason? Putrid skate day is coming up, and they had a handsome selection of raw pieces already in stock.

Dear readers, this blog has not been very heavy on the Yule lately, and those of you who have been reading alongtime may be asking yourselves where all the posts about the Yule Lads and Grýla and the Yule Cat are, whilst secretly wondering whether our YT is making only a halfhearted attempt at getting her Yule on this year. To which the answer is, not to worry, we're getting our Yule on as usual, only when you've blogged about those crafty Yule Lads for three years in a row you get a wee bit weary because, let's face it, there's only so much that you can say about them, especially when you don't have little kids any more that totally believe that there's a new Yule Lad that comes down from the mountains every night and deposits a little gift in their shoe, not to mention writes them letters in Old English font.

In three more days it will be Christmas up here [we celebrate on the 24th] and, as a matter of fact, our particular Christmas starts a day early, on the 23rd, because that's when YT celebrates her birthday, so everything has to be done before then. The more astute amongst you may recall that YT's birthday happens to coincide with putrid skate day, and that for the last few years YT and EPI have been invited to a rancid skate party at EPI's brother and sister-in-law's place. Only they had the nerve to move to Selfoss earlier this year [boo!] so there shall be no rancid skate party this year. And before you ask, no, I'm certainly not going to throw one at our place because when you throw a rancid skate party every last object in the house becomes permeated with the smell which can only be described as a cross between ammonia and cat piss. Multiplied by about 1010. Right before the holiest of all holy days. I may be crazy, but I'm not insane.

OK. Let's see. We've already done the Yule buffet, we've been to The Virgin, we've been to the Yule party at my father's place for all the kids and grandkids. I've bought all the Christmas prezzies that I need to buy [I may have to assist EPI and AAH a bit tomorrow and the next day], and today we went out and did most of the grocery shopping for Christmas dinner and my birthday. Plus last night EPI and I went out and bought our Christmas tree from the charity in support of children with cancer. It's sitting out on the balcony as we speak, because the tradition here is that the tree doesn't go up until the 23rd [in our case the 22nd, for reasons above]. The only thing I haven't done is bought myself any Yule Cat insurance [unless a pair of nylons count] because, quite frankly, I can't be bothered to go out and buy myself a new Christmas dress when I have a perfectly good one that I bought last year and which I've only used, like, twice since then.

OK, the truth is I've developed a sudden fierce allergy to shopping malls and fitting rooms. The other day I went to Kringlan for the first time in months and within 20 minutes felt like I'd had all the lifeblood sucked out of me and was ready to crawl beneath the nearest clothing rack in a foetal position and just lie there until I was beamed up to the nearest Galactic spaceship. I took it as a sign to get the hell out of there, and to not go back until the hordes have left. Besides, the rampant consumerism makes me ill, as I alluded to in a previous post. I've never felt it quite this strongly before, but I certainly do now, and I'm sure it has something to do with some rather eye-opening, and perhaps even life-changing, experiences I've had recently [more on that later, perhaps].

I think I'll leave you with a little story that I heard from my half-sister the other day. She has two boys [and a wee baby girl] and the younger of the boys [who is three] is just getting his head around the whole Yule Lad concept. However, he hadn't quite figured out what it means when you get a potato in your shoe [it means you've been bad and it's a Very Serious Matter] and when the first Yule Lad arrived this year, both he and his brother got a potato because they'd been naughty the previous day. However, he happens to like potatoes, so he came running out to his mom, all excited, and asked: "Can you help me peel it?" [D'oh!]

IT'S BEEN OVERCAST AND WERY WERY DARK TODAY
So believe me, I was grateful for my HappyLight™, which was on duty the entire time I spent at home. Although, to be honest, I'm not perfectly sure whether it's making a difference, or if it's all in my head. I mean, I think I have fewer SAD symptoms, but I'm still pretty tired and stuff, and it's hard to get up in the mornings [although it might help if I went to bed at a decent hour, and not at, say, 2 am]. I'm not depressed or anything, though, and my concentration is back up to speed, so ... maybe. maybe. Currently 8°C [46F], the sun came up at 11.21 and went down at 3.29 pm. Winter solstice tomorrow! Huzzah!

Ain't no Yule without The Virgin

Christmas in Iceland is all about tradition, and for EPI and YT there quite simply is no freaking Christmas unless we get our Yule Platter at The Virgin.

In fact, this conviction has passed repeatedly through my panicked mind over the past two weeks, having been told that The Virgin was all booked up every day and every evening until Christmas and there was not a hope in hell that we’d be able to get a table unless something major happened, like a massive fricking storm that would drive everyone off the streets and into the malls. Which is exactly what happened last Friday. Whew.

The Virgin is the English translation of Jómfrúin, which is the name of a restaurant in downtwn Reykjavík and also a euphemism for ‘Danish woman who makes open-faced sandwiches’. Those open faced sandwiches are called smørrebrod and are traditionally Danish. In Denmark they have been elevated to a high art, so much that it takes years to be educated as a smørrebrod-maker, and those who actually graduate in the art of smørrebrod-making can officially call themselves jómfrú which in English translates into ‘virgin’ or, more specifically, ‘female virgin’.

Anyway, the owner of Jómfrúin is a man, and not just any man but actually the first member of the male gender to actually graduate as a jómfrú [geddit? He’s not actually a female, yet he’s a jómfrú]. And – predictably – the restaurant specializes in smørrebrod, a scrumptious selection of which they serve every day of the year [but only until 6 pm because true smørrebrod places are never open in the evenings]. During Advent, however, Jómfrúin completely departs from its regular programming and serves up a fantastic Yule Platter, featuring a selection of seven different tapas-sized dishes, plus a to-die-for dessert in the form of a rice and almond pudding served with cherry sauce [with real cherries] and whipped cream. YUM.

The Yule Platter consists of the following Danish delicacies [keep in mind that all this is of the highest quality, made from scratch by The Virgin himself, and absolutely delectable]: Pickled herring in a mustard sauce, crab tart with lobster tail, some sort of pickled chicken salad concoction, hot smoked duck breast, reindeer pâté, roast pork with rind and caramelized potatoes with brown sauce, and finally a slice of creamy gorgonzola with grapes, all served with pumpernickel bread and sliced baguette. Followed by the aforementioned dessert. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt to start the evening off with a shot of Aalborg Aquavit, served in an iced glass.

EPI and I chanced upon this hidden Advent treasure about six years ago when we were doing some Christmas shopping downtown and ambled into The Virgin on the way home because we didn’t feel like cooking. We were immediately bowled over and made a vow there and then to do the Yule Platter thing every single year, come hell or high water [like last Friday]. Something which we have judiciously adhered to ever since, sometimes alone, sometimes with friends. And clearly we’re not the only devotees because Yule Platter at The Virgin has become more popular year-on-year, witnessed by the fact that when I phoned to make a reservation at the beginning of December for, oh, around the 20^th or so, we were told that there was not a hope in hell of getting a table for the remainder of the Advent, unless there happened to be a last-minute cancellation, which was highly unlikely. Unless there was a tempest, that is.

WE HAD A BRIEF RESPITE YESTERDAY AND THEN – ANOTHER STORM
It’s getting so that you can set your watch by it … one day a storm, another day calm, next day storm, next day calm, and so on. Weatherman sez it’s because there was a huge low-pressure area that was broken up somehow en route to us, resulting in this chequered kind of weather. Whatever, all I know is that I went out for a walk today and there was not a dry thread on my entire body within ten minutes of walking out the door. I came back looking like a drowned rat. Then, this evening, EPI and I went out for a long walk around the golf course in relatively calm and absolute pitch darkness. Scary. It was a new experience for Yours Truly, and I remarked to EPI on the way that there were probably not many places in the world where you could walk outside like that in a remote area with not a light around, and still feel safe as houses. We’re in for some calm until tomorrow night, when we have another storm coming. Tsk. Still, we’re not getting barraged with snow like the northern US. It’s mild, in fact: 6°C [43F] and sunrise was at 11.17, sunset at 15.29.

We're not making nuclear warheads in here, honest

Bye bye SAD
.

So, EPI went out yesterday and came back with a SAD light. Fired it up and instantly the place was filled with the light of a million suns ... made me want to strip down and lie right in the middle of the kitchen floor for a spot of tanning. However I wondered what the neighbours would think – not about the nudity, but about the light. Through the window I'm sure our place looks like the inside of a nuclear reactor.

Be that as it may, we have high hopes for our new EnergyLight™. No later than by the end of this week I expect to be as perky as the model on the box, replete with perfect hair and straight rows of pearly whites. I turned it on this morning as I sat working at the kitchen table and … well … SADly I feel no discernable difference. In fact I've been schlepping my ass through the Gegend [one for you, my dear German readers] for the better part of the day, all haggard complexion and bleary eyes. Clinging to the hope that the effects won’t show up until later. Sort of like taking LÝSI.

Anyway, I did manage to complete the first phase of Operation Sara Bernhard cookies this evening AND make a batch of homemade müsli, so perhaps I’m underestimating the Power of the Light. Or not – I’m completely wasted right now and feeling like I’ve run a ten-hour marathon. My bed beckons. Ta!

JUST A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE WEATHER BEFORE I GO
It’s extremely dramatic right now – a real-live tempest, with sheets of heavy-duty rain just pummeling the windowpane. All hell has broken loose according to mbl.is – they’ve got rescue squads out all over the capital area. Roofing has blown off, cars have blown over, scaffolding and flagpoles have broken loose, in one place a barbecue went through a window and a camper was pulverized. Welcome to Niceland! Temps 4°C [39F], sunrise was at 11.06 and sunset at 3.34 pm.

Stuffed at Argentina

Been suffering from Acute Cobweb Syndrome all day long on account of the copious amounts of red wine I drank last night while out enjoying a Christmas buffet courtesy of EPI's employer. Actually, 'copious amounts' is probably a bit misleading - the fact is that I normally suffer from cobweb syndrome the day after drinking anything in excess of a single glass of red wine. Sadly, red wine and YT do not mix well. I love it yet it doesn't love me. Sigh. Life's a bitch, and all that. Boo hoo.

Anyway, 'tis the season of the Christmas buffet, meaning every company worth its salt must invite its employees out to at least one. And such is the demand that parties are booked back-to-back at restaurants and in our case we had to arrive promptly at six pm and be out by nine. Fair enough.

This particular buffet was held at Iceland's Bastion of Beef, a restaurant called Argentina, which for about a decade now has been considered one of the classiest joints in town, not to mention one of the most expensive. Hence it was with some anticipation that our YT made her way there last night for the very first time, ready to partake of Argentina in all its glory.

Imagine my surprise, then, to find that the decor was much like a tired old steakhouse in any old suburb of any Western metropolis, all fake Tudor, plaster walls and exposed beams. And boy, was it a tight squeeze in there - the place is in no way designed for a Christmas buffet or parties of 20 or more. People were cramming into a tiny room off to the side to fill their plates, an undertaking which, note bene, was carefully orchestrated by the waitstaff and as such went off without any major disasters, but was still a bit unpleasant.

Be that as it may, the food was very good, although for a Christmas buffet there was only a limited selection of things to choose from - at least compared to some other places at which I've had the privilege of partaking. There was the ubiquitous gravlax and reindeer pate, both of which were excellent, and a pretty good roast beef that nonetheless was a bit tough [as all beef is in Iceland always - guess it must be the absence of tenderizer, which in turn makes it OK]. There was also an excellent Spanish potato salad, and a turkey terrine with wild mushrooms that was very tasty and unusual. Mind you, the whole thing was a bit heavy on the turkey ... probably because turkey is a bit of a fad in Iceland these days, or has been for the last, say, 3-4 years. Adopted from somewhere - probably America [ooh, now I'll get some hyper-sensitive American person in my comments accusing me of saying Iceland picks up all its bad habits from America] - and, like all fads to hit Iceland, it took off at a gallop and virtually everyone followed. Except for YT, because in my North American incarnation I ate enough turkey [and turkey leftovers] to last me until the end of my life and then some, so unlike most of my Icelandic brethren I really cannot get excited about turkey even if my life depended on it. But I digress.

Happily there were alternatives to turkey, like the filet of lamb served as a hot course [also a bit tough, but hey, who's complaining, not me] and then there was the dessert buffet which bizarrely served up chocolate cake [i.e. like a devil's food cake, not French chocolate] which to me seems like a totally ridiculous thing to offer people who have just stuffed themselves at an all-you-can-eat buffet. I mean, one slice is equivalent to a whole meal! Cleverly I sidestepped the cake and went straight for the homemade sorbet, the creme brulee and the chocolate cups with the mango filling [or whatever that was] and boy, those did not disappoint.

Final verdict: Argentina is not a comfortable place for a Christmas buffet, but the food is good, especially if you like turkey. 3.5 stars out of 5.

Afterwards a few of us headed back to a friend's apartment, where some more red wine was consumed and we yacked away until the wee hours of the morning, telling stories and chewing the fat. A very, very nice evening. Very nice.

THE WEATHER GETS FIVE STARS OUT OF FIVE
Because it has been sublime. Finally, a few days of proper winter! Today it was brilliantly sunny and cold, and there's snow on the ground, which is awesome. There was no wind, which just made it so delightful to be outside in the cool, crisp air. The only problem is that there are only about 4.5 hours of daylight in which to enjoy it - but then again, the sky has such a lovely pastel hue for such an extended period. It's all in the perception. Temps currently -5°C [23F] and sunrise was at 11.02 this morning, sunset at 3.36 pm.

It's beginning to look a lot like ... you know what

We're starting to gear up for Christmas around here, albeit slowly. Whereas the windows in surrounding buildings are all lit up with coloured lights, the most I've managed in terms of decorating so far is hanging up my little red lantern bought at IKEA a couple of years ago. Very soon I shall get around to descending the two sets of stairs down to the basement to fetch the Advent lights. Very soon. At the same time I shall undoubtedly fetch the stuff to make the Advent wreath with the four candles on, one to be lit each Sunday during the time leading up to Christmas. It's all there, I just haven't made the time to go down and get it. Because, you know, it's awfully far, and there might even be some stuff that needs to be moved out of the way first.

BUT I can tell you that this evening I made my second annual [i.e. since it became a tradition last year] English fruitcake, with real dried fruit that was made to soak in liquor since last night. Never mind that we have [as I remarked to EPI earlier] half a Daim cake in the freezer, half a cheesecake in the fridge, and almost a whole layer cake sitting on the kitchen counter. Cakes that nobody seems to show a particular interest in eating. After all, sweet things have an inexplicably long lifetime in this household - my darling stepdaughters have given up bringing us chocolates from the Duty Free when they go abroad because they inevitably find them here, uneaten, months later. The joke around here is that we only eat candy that is past the expiration date. But I digress.

Baking during the lead-up to Christmas is considered a virtue among Icelandic women, even though today they sort of claim to poo-pooh the tradition, as in, "Oh, I can never be bothered to bake cookies before Christmas, that's what bakeries are for," while secretly feeling terribly inadequate that their neighbour has managed to bake two or three varieties. YT has to bake at least one variety before Christmas to feel up to par, namely the sinfully delicious Sara Bernhard cookies [which really counts as two varieties because they're so damn difficult to make]. For those of you who are unacquainted with Sara Bernhards they're comprised of a crunchy base made from egg whites, ground almonds and icing sugar, baked in the oven, a creamy filling made from butter, egg yolks, sugar and cocoa [cholesterol alert!], and topped with melted dark chocolate that can neither be too runny when applied [it will run right off the creamy filling] nor too stiff [it won't apply properly]. This is a seriously tricky operation, believe me, but worth it in the end because these cookies are orgasmic. And I use that adjective with discretion. Actually, make that orgasmic with a capital 'O' [ladies: think 'ovulation'].

OKAY, MOVING RIGHT ALONG
Here is a picture of what our milk cartons look like these days. Look familiar? That's right: it's those crafty old Yule Lads being featured on those cartons, in anticipation of their arrival to town in about a week's time. Yowsa. And it will be time to dig out all of AAH's old letters again to look at. Aw. Meanwhile we've weathered another storm and it's currently raining and mild. Temps 3°C [37F] and sunrise was at 10.52 [no, really] and sunset at 3.42 pm.

The earth will shake, in two will break ...

Ehm, we hope that last bit doesn't materialize, but the fact is that the earth has been shaking a fair bit around here for the last couple of weeks. There's been activity on the so-called 'western volcanic belt' which extends from the Reykjanes peninsula [approximately where we are] to the north of Langjökull glacier. We haven't felt any tremors in the capital area but the good people of Selfoss have been shaking a lot, and yesterday there was a quake 4.4 on the Richter scale in the Hveravellir area.

Meanwhile, the Civil Protection Agency has sent out a warning that there may be further quakes, and some may occur in residential areas. Yowsa!

In other words, this might be a good time to nail that bookshelf to the wall, and review the What To Do If There Is an Earthquake pages in the phone book.

WEATHER!
Who cares about the weather these days - it's the dark we're concerned about. It gets light awwwfully late in the mornings now, and awwwfully early in the afternoons. And on days like today, when it is rainy and overcast, it just doesn't feel like a proper day. Some people have already started putting Christmas lights in their windows - even though the Advent doesn't start until next weekend, and that is the official start to the Christmas celebrations for us. And who can blame them? Anything to drive away the darkness. Went out a few minutes ago to drive AAH to work and there was this nasty damp cold - the kind that gets into your bones, with slushy rain coming down. Temps 1°C [34F], sunrise was at 10.33 and sunset at 3.57 pm.

YT the one-woman tourist board

Got an email from a reader in Athens, Greece, who is planning to visit our fair isle over Christmas and New Year’s and who presented our YT with a set of questions related to his upcoming trip. Seeing as how the information might be useful to the myriad other punters who are planning on doing the same [if the google searches I’m getting are anything to go by, there are many] I thought I’d post both the questions and the answers here. Doing my bit for king and country, as it were.

What would you suggest as something traditional to do over New Years Holiday?

~ Go out on New Year’s Eve and mix with the locals at the brennur – the big bonfires generally held down by the seashore. [In Reykjavík the one on Ægissíða is the best, in my opinion.] Then at midnight go up to Skólavörðuholt, in front of Hallgrímskirkja church, and observe the mayhem as Reykjavík residents shoot up fireworks worth the GDP of a small African nation within the space of half an hour. TIP: you may want to bring earplugs.

What are the possibilities of seeing the northern lights? (we are renting a vehicle so we have the opportunity to leave the city during the nights).

~ Hit and miss. If you’re lucky it will be cold and clear, the conditions needed for the northern lights to appear. Driving out of the city also increases the chances, what with light pollution and everything.

What would you consider to be the best public pool/water slides for families?

~ 1. Árbæjarlaug, 2. Laugardalslaug.

Best Traditional Icelandic food (I am a big fan of Seafood)?

~ At Christmas? Smoked lamb [hangikjöt], ptarmigan [rjúpa] if you can get it [you probably can’t], reindeer pâté, leaf bread [laufabrauð], smoked puffin. All those will be present at any Christmas buffet in the city [except maybe the ptarmigan], which are hugely popular around that time. If traditional Christmas isn’t de rigueur, then you can’t go wrong with seafood and lamb. Even the most basic restaurant will do good seafood [except, maybe, Icelandic Fish and Chips, as I found out to my dismay] and I can recommend Við Tjörnina [no I’m not getting a kickback – if only!] for great fish dishes.

Okay then! If anyone else has any questions, do send them in, we aim to please.

STILL FREEZING COLD, UNTIL TOMORROW
The last few days have been miserable, what with the freezing temps and particularly the strong wind from the north that gets in through every nook and cranny and just makes you feel so cold. BUT we’re in for southeasterly winds tomorrow and rain for the next few days, much to the chagrin of another reader – from the UK – who emailed yesterday to ask if the weather forecast he’d seen somewhere with temps of 7-12°C was really true. And I was forced to tell him that Iceland is, in fact, the most misnamed country on the planet, save for Greenland which obviously is in a league of its own. Temps crawling upwards, currently 4°C [39F] and sunrise was at 8:23 am, sunset due for 6:02 pm.

The meaning of the quote

Remember the other day when I was feeling particularly reflective? I left you with my favourite quote: I have willed to go forward, and have not advanced beyond the borders of my grave.

Paul left a comment in which he metaphorically scratched his head over YT’s vagueness. As well he might. The thing is, I’ve not been very prone to delving into the more profound facets of life in this space, preferring to stick to lighter fare. But since Paul asked, and since I sort of opened the lid of this Pandora’s box just a crack, here comes my interpretation, put as plainly as I can manage.

For me, at a very basic level, that quote sums up the ineffectiveness of applying willpower. I mean, how many times at year-end have you said to yourself: “I have got to stop/start drinking / smoking / exercising/ running /writing that book ... this year I’m going to do it ... all I need is more willpower.” Personally I’ve said variations of those phrases a hundred times in the past, and I still say them, even though several years ago I learned perhaps the most important truth of my life: my willpower is completely ineffective in the face of my own shortcomings and flaws. In other words, I cannot overcome my own flaws/shortcomings, e.g. my tendency to procrastinate, with my own willpower alone. I’ve tried – lots – and it doesn’t work.

The only thing that works, in my experience, is surrendering and accepting my own powerlessness. Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing over and over and over again and hoping for a different result. My own attempts at facilitating changes in my own circumstances were completely futile; however I have been lucky enough to find a set of tools that have completely changed my life.

I could write an entire book on the subject, and perhaps one day I will. But the important thing now is that the quote above – my favourite quote – sums up the first step on that journey – admitting my powerlessness, and admitting that doing the same thing as I’ve always done, willing myself to go forward, is tantamount to staying trapped in my grave; not reaching my potential, not participating fully in life, not being really alive in the true sense of the word.

SPEAKING OF LIGHTER FARE, HERE IS THE ICELAND WEATHER REPORT
It turned colder last night and when I looked out the window this morning there was a thin layer of snow over everything. The day was spent mostly indoors – taking down the Christmas tree and such, since yesterday was Þrettándinn [Twelfth Night], the official end of Christmas here in Niceland. [I’m so glad we have this tradition of getting rid of the tree on Þrettándinn - I’ve decided there is nothing so desolate as a desiccated Christmas tree.] Went out mid-afternoon, though, and the light was gorgeous – that blue-and-pink-hued sky that comes with cold weather, and Mt. Esja all covered in white across the bay. At the moment it is 5°C, the wind is picking up, and the sun came up at 11.11 and went down at 15.57. – Oh! What do I see when checking the temps on mbl.is ... Magnús Magnússon, one of the best-known Icelanders of all time, has died in the UK. May he rest in peace.

Burning down the year

A big part of New Year’s in Iceland is the bonfire tradition, in which huge fires are lit throughout the country on New Year’s Eve. These inevitably draw a big crowd and for many it’s an indispensable part of the evening – going out to the bonfire after a big festive dinner and meeting up with your friends and neighbours.

One of the largest ones in Reykjavík is near our place and today I walked past and saw that they have a fairly substantial pile of wood set up there for tomorrow. With any luck we’ll make it down there ... the fire is lit at 8.30 pm and extinguished a little past 10, I believe – just prior to the Áramótaskaup, an annual send-up of the year’s events that has Nicelanders glued to their TV screens – and causes the streets to be empty – from 10.30 to 11.30 pm. [A more detailed description of Nicelandic New Year’s traditions may be found in last year’s instalment, here.]

But back to bonfires. Only today did I discover that lighting big fires on New Year’s Eve is a tradition unique to Iceland. The first report of such a fire dates back to 1791 when a bunch of guys studying at Hólavallaskóli gathered barrels and timber and set them on fire, on what today is Landakotstún [where the Catholic church is] – which happens to be the place where we go to shoot up our fireworks at midnight [along with virtually all of the West End ... it happens to be the highest place in the vicinity so you have an excellent view of the splendiferous pyrotechnics in the sky.]

Some 50 years later, New Year’s bonfires had become common in Reykjavík, and by that time people had started dancing ‘Elf dances’ around them [guffaw!]. This is believed to hail from a play performed by yet another school [Lærði skólinn], in which they dressed up like elves, marched down to the Tjörnin pond with torches and danced and sang “elf songs”.

In addition to this, there are lots of myths connected with New Year’s Eve in Niceland. Supposedly cows start talking, but you shouldn’t try to eavesdrop because you will almost certainly go mad. Also, the elves move house on New Year’s Eve and you are advised to lie down at a crossroads on New Year’s night, from which four churches are visible. Elves will then appear from all directions, ask you to follow them and offer you gold and treasures, clothes, food and drink if you do. However, you must not accept because immediately you’ll become spellbound and subsequently go mad. However, if you stoically manage to get through until morning without responding, superstition has it that the elves will disappear but their wealth and treasures will remain and be yours.

So in other words, if you’re in need of some quick cash, just find a Nicelandic crossroads, make sure you can see four churches, and lie down. Problem solved. Just don’t mention my name to the elves.

WEATHER?
Who cares what the weather is today – all eyes are on tomorrow. If there was ever a day in which the weather is of prime importance it’s New Year’s Eve. Two years ago, for instance, there was a storm and they had to cancel the bonfires and it just wasn’t the same. Sigh. Neither do you want too much snowfall, or rain, or fog. Clear skies are an absolute must. And too much wind – scary. Nobody wants a firecracker to blow up their dress/coat/trouser leg/nostril. Sooooo... I’m happy to report that the forecast for tomorrow is excellent. Moderate winds and scattered clouds, with temps of around 2°C. Today the sun came up at 11.21 and set at 15.40. And the day feels much longer already. Really. Both EPI and I noticed.

It's that day again!

... You know which day I mean. It's... EAT-PUTRID-SKATE-DAY!!

Yes, dear readers, this is the day when homes and neighbourhoods throughout the country are filled with the, ahem, pungent aroma of putrid skate, which to the uninitiated may best be described as a cross between urine and ammonia. Sound horrific? Yes, but according to the front page of Fréttablaðið today, eating putrid skate actually cures colds and increases your libido. The first one I'll buy - even just entering a room where putid skate is being prepared will bring tears to your eyes and clear your sinuses in a second. In fact, two years ago EPI was ill with the flu on this day, but after some coercing schlepped himself over to his brothers' place [a stone's throw away] where YT was living it up at their annual Putrid Skate Party. Sure enough, by the very next day EPI was fit as a fiddle [whereas YT was feeling exceedingly poorly - but by then all the putrid skate was gone, so I couldn't use it as a cure, alas]. - As for the libido bit, weeellll... methinks those Alpha Males of the West Fjords do flatter themselves just a tiny bit.

Evidently, eating putrid skate originates from the West Fjords, where [they say] the wealthier members of society [all five-or-so of them] fed their workers putrid skate on Þorláksmessa [St. Thorlák's Mass - which is today] so that anything would taste better to them until the next Þorláksmessa. I'm sure they never envisioned that it would become a nationwide, er... delicacy or - at the very least - provide occasion for folks to get together and down some seriously potent Akvavit, which you need to be able to imbibe the stuff.

Incidentally, the skate is actually made putrid by placing it in a sealed plastic container for over a month. They claim this was once a preservation method, but hey. Surely there are better ways of preserving stuff than to make it go rotten - wouldn't you say?

At any rate, I shall be attending EPI's brother and sister-in-law's annual skate party this evening and shall be sure to bring my camera for your subsequent viewing pleasure. In the meantime, here is last year's report.

Oh and by the way, it's also my birthday today. What I want? Same thing I want every day: Peace on Earth, and a comment.

WE HAD INSANE WEATHER LAST NIGHT, BUT NOW IT'S ALL PROPER AND GOOD
Just a hint of a breeze, 5°C, sunrise was at 11.22 and sunset is at 15.31.

PS. you can see a video of a putrid skate party here, held by the amazing Sægreifinn [The Sea Baron - also interviewed] who I am resolved to devote a separate post to soon. This guy is a national treasure.

Meet the new family member

EPI and I were really really good... so look what we got in our shoe:*



Ms Magnifica DeLonghi, if you please. Quite the stunner, wouldn't you agree?

HEY! WHAT'S WITH THE STORM? IT'S CHRISTMAS, YOU KNOW!
Oh, what a day it's been! Started out benignly enough... until I went out for a walk to the bakery, that is. On the way - as I walked along the seashore - it started huffing and puffing and... finally it grew exceedingly dark and before I knew what had hit me I was in the midst of the most wicked hailstorm I've ever known. It was the most absurd situation: walking along listening to old Diana Krall singing the calmest candlelight Christmas music ever on the iPod, and then BAM! all of a sudden I have to dig my feet into the ground to keep from being blown out to sea and the backs of my legs are being pummeled with hailstones. It hurt like hell! I'm sure I have hail-sized bruises! While old Diana kept crooning 'White Christmas' all warm and cozy, like. It was so crazy I started laughing and I'm sure all the passers by thought I was certifiably insane [er... all none of them - because you had to be insane to be out there] and note bene - that was just the beginning. A couple hours later we had British Airways jets being redirected to Egilsstaðir in the east on account of the storm, and needless to say all domestic flights were cancelled [which means we have a lot of British tourists hanging around Egilsstaðir tonight, wondering what the hell to do with themselves]. It's still crazy windy, and is supposed to alternate between this and perfect calm until Christmas Day. Temps 1°C and sunrise and sunset the same as yesterday imagine that. OH AND THE WINTER SOLSTICE IS TODAY! INTO THE LIGHT ONCE MORE!

*OK, so it's actually a wedding prez from his father.

The Yule Lads: partners in crime

When AAH was little, she totally bought into the whole Yule Lad thing. When her little friends, aged nine or so, started whispering that maybe there was no such thing as the Yule Lads, AAH vehemently opposed them. She had proof. Not only did the Yule Lads leave presents [or occasionally a potato - very occasionally] in her shoe, they also left her letters. Written in Old English font. And who else but the Yule Lads wrote letters in Old English font.

Guilty as charged. That's right: when little AAH had fallen asleep one evening, YT - on a whim - sat herself down and wrote a letter from the Yule Lad of the day. Undoubtedly I had an ulterior motive - it was already obvious that Icelandic children were on their best behavior all through December, and the Yule Lads were used shamelessly by parents to manipulate and coerce.

Of course, they could also be used for positive reinforcement, to wit:



Dear [AAH]
Oh how wonderful it is to come into such a tidy and beautiful room. I can see you've done a great job of tidying up. Congratulations. Now that you're learning how to read, we can start leaving you letters. I only hope you can read our lettering. [Heheh.] I'm leaving something you'll like in your shoe - something you can use for crafts. Thank you very much for the ginger snap and the glass of milk. Both were delicious. Goodbye, your Gimpy

Problem was, I wasn't really planning on doing it every night. But little AAH soon grew quite insistent:



Would you please send me a letter dear Yule Lads!!! Yours, [AAH] !!! !

Obviously I had passed the point of no return. It turned out that AAH looked forward to reading the letters in the morning almost as much as she looked forward to the gift in the shoe. So YT continued with her brazen agenda:



Dear [AAH],
I could have given you something very nice in your shoe tonight. I happen to know that you're a good girl, really. But we Yule Lads have certain rules we must follow. We're not allowed to give kids presents in their shoes unless they've been really good all day long. And unfortunately you were a little naughty yesterday. For example, I know you like to go swimming, but you do have to obey your mom when she says it's time to get out of the water. Do you know what my mother did when me and my brothers refused to get out of the pond back home? She grabbed us by the nape of the neck, pulled us out, and then spanked us on our bare bottoms. That was not fun, let me tell you. You know, your mom loves you very much and sometimes it's really hard for her when you're sulking like you do. Today you should try to be good and we'll see if you don't get something nice in your shoe the next night. Goodbye, your Pot-Scraper Licker. PS. Thank you for the cookie and the milk, both were delicious. I'll make sure Itty-Bitty gets the nut you left for him.

I seem to remember that this worked exceptionally well - for a few days. At that point, AAH started taking preventitive measures before the Yule Lad came:



I'm sorry, dear Yule Lad, that me and Sunna were so angry and so naughty today. I think you'll want to have this song. [?!] Please give me a letter.

Now, if only there was something like this that could work on the importunate teenager...

THERE IS A STORM HAPPENING AS WE SPEAK
And there has been a lot of drama in the last 24 hours. A huge transport vessel stranded just off the south coast of Reykjanes and this is Very Bad News. A Danish defense ship was nearby and went to provide assistance; tragically one of the Danish marines drowned during the rescue effort. The weather is terrible at the scene, and there are fears that the ship will break apart and spill oil. Meanwhile, rivers in south Iceland have grown exponentially and there were fears of flooding that thankfully seem to be abating. Around 100 horses were rescued from where they were trapped by a growing river, but sadly three horses drowned. And finally, landslides have fallen on farms in the north - 10-20 calves were killed in an outhouse and a mudslide hit a farm today and filled the house with a couple feet of mud. The weather is supposed to stay this way until Saturday. So you see, boys and girls - it's not always fun and games up here! Temps 9°C and sunrise was at 11.21 and sunset at 15.30.

Saved

I got my insurance against the Yule Cat today.

It was a close call, but I shall be saved from its treacherous belly once again this year. Phew.

THE WEATHER IS NOT YULE-LIKE ANYMORE
In fact, for the last two days it's been unseasonably warm and rainy. Coupled with strong winds - from the south, which is preferable to the north, but still not pleasant. EPI and I have just walked home from downtown where we imbibed yet another traditional [for us] Yuletide dinner, this time at the fabulous Jómfrúin [The Virgin]. They're a danish Smørrebrød outfit and do this amazing Yule platter, which is a combination of All Best Things Danish. Mmm. Anyway, it was blowing pretty hard and there was this fine drizzle that covered us in a veneer of wetness. The sort of weather I remember from Copenhagen, in fact. Currently 9°C and the sun [hah! what sun? we barely had daylight...] here in the capital came up behind the clouds at 11.20 and went down at 15.29. ONLY TWO MORE DAYS UNTIL THE WINTER SOLSTICE! YAY!!

PS. I can't remember which Yule Lad comes today, but I shall return with a more comprehensive report tomorrow, including an in-depth analysis of the child-rearing benefits of the Yule Lads. Watch this space.

All quiet on the Yule front?

... you may well be asking. [Or not.] The answer, of course, is a resounding NO – all is not quiet; in fact I have been Yuling my little buns off for the last several days. This includes obligatory stuff like braving crowds at the Kringlan mall; making the single most scrumptious cookies ever invented in the history of the world; cleaning [no deep-cleaning though – I’ve decided to heed some of the best advice I’ve ever heard, which is to turn off the overhead lights, light some candles instead, and put cleaning fluid in a bucket behind the sofa for that freshly-cleaned smell]; sending off homemade cards [those insipid store-bought ones? – that’s far too easy]; and eating myself into a stupor at swanky old Perlan.

It’s s’posedly the best Christmas buffet in town, and so it was with some anticipation that EPI and I headed there last Friday to meet with his colleagues, at the generous invitation of his employer. [For the uninitiated, Perlan, or ‘The Pearl’, is a restaurant that sits atop the hot water tanks (from which we get our geothermal hot water for heating, showering, swimming, etc.) on Reykjavík’s Öskjuhlíð hill. It’s on one of the highest vantage points in the city and has an amazing view, which is why every tourist who has ever visited will know where it is – it’s the first place anyone ever takes them. The restaurant is one of those rotating establishments, and takes an hour or two to complete a full circle. Which sounded kind of touristy and beneath our dignity before we went, but which turned out to be pretty exciting once we were actually seated at the window, rotating and pointing and getting all disoriented trying to figure out where we were. But I digress.]

The buffet was one of those typical smorgasbords that invites utter gluttony. Personally, my eyeballs are always waaayy bigger than my stomach on such occasions, and that by the time I’m done with the appetizers I’m already ready for a post-dinner snooze. Appetizer highlights were, without a doubt, the duck pâté and the whale carpaccio with arugula lettuce and pine nuts. Main course highlights: the venison and the ‘purusteik’ with the wild mushroom sauce – a Danish-style pork loin with a crunchy top that I’m sure is called something proper in English. By the time I was done with those I was virtually comatose [I'm not a very big person, and I was eating like a trucker], yet was unable to resist the lure of the dessert buffet, which was stacked with impossibly delectable sweets. Highlights: chocolate mousse topped with strawberry in a paper-thin chocolate cup, and some sort of concoction that was similar to a white chocolate mousse with traditional Icelandic candy bits in it: licorice, crispy Nóa-kropp and other crazy stuff. Yow.sa.

So, I couldn’t fault the food, I couldn’t fault the service; but what I did fault was the sort of herding atmosphere that seemed to prevail. By which I mean that the general patronage was sort of herded through the buffet [line up here, then into this line here, etc.], was herded back to the long buffet tables [those were only tables available] and when the buffet was deemed [by the management] to be over [around 11 pm], they started flicking the lights on and off. Very tacky. Which meant that the Christmas staff party basically consisted of sitting down, eating, and going home. No mingling. Boo.

AS FOR THE YULE LADS...
We’re a bit behind here at the Weather Report, and while we’ve been Yuling about town, Stúfur[Itty-Bitty], Þvörusleikir [Pot-Scraper Licker] and Pottasleikir [Pot Licker] have all come and gone. Today, however, we have Askasleikir [Bowl Licker], who crept in to the houses and licked the ‘askar’ clean [askar being lidded wooden bowls, often elaborately carved, that people ate from. Everyone had their own personal askur and when they were done using them, they were given to the dogs and cats to lick clean. (Ringworm, anyone?) So logically, old Bowl Licker would have not so much pissed off the human population, as the canine and feline one.]

WEATHER:
Having already rambled on too long, I shall let this photo [yes, or this one] speak the 1,000 or so words I might use to describe the weather. I took them this afternoon down by the south shore. Temps currently –2°C and sunrise was at 11.18, sunset at 15.29.

ALSO!
Taiga the Fox lives in Finland and has an incredibly delightful Advent Calendar set up on her site. [At least I assume she’s done it herself - hm.] Do check it out – you will be charmed - guaranteed!

Yule requests addressed

Many thanks to Pharmacy Trainee, Rozanne and Tim, who were all curious to know more about parts of yesterday's Yule listing, thus mercifully sparing YT the effort of actually having to think of what to post. For as I've explained, the grey matter isnt' quite up to scratch these days, what with a mere four or so hours of daylight to jolt it awake.

#23. TWELFTH NIGHT AND THE APPEARANCE OF THE ELF KING AND QUEEN
Here in Niceland, Christmas is pretty well delineated. It begins officially at 6 pm on the 24th [Christmas Eve] and finishes 13 days later, which is when the 13 Yule Lads have all gone back home, one per day [just as they arrive]. In Iceland, this day is called 'Þrettándinn' which means 'The 13th', but coincides with 'Twelfth Night' in the Anglo-Saxon version, presumably because in Anglo-Saxland Christmas is celebrated one day later than ours.

According to folklore, strange and magical things took place both on 'Þrettándinn' and on New Year's Eve. The cows started talking [but people were warned not to listen to them, because their talk would drive them mad], seals shed their skins [Icelandic legend had it that seals were humans under a spell because their eyes are so expressive], and the elves moved from one abode to another.

Today, this tradition lives on in that bonfires are burned throughout the nation [just like on New Year's Eve, only smaller] and the 'Elf king and Queen' will often make an appearance, dressed in fancy clothing and riding a horse. This is mostly for the benefit of the younger generation, I hasten to add, much as Santa Claus makes an appearance at various Christmas events.

#7 EATING MANDARINS
I have no idea why this is so, but eating mandarins has become one of the most indisposable traditions of the Icelandic Yule. I suspect the explanation is terribly banal: Yule coincides with mandarin season, and boxes of mandarins start appearing in the stores in early December. Practically every home has mandarins set out in bowls so they're there for the taking - and snacking. In fact, I've suddenly developed a severe craving for a mandarin, so if you'll excuse me for a moment...

...

I ask you: is there any fruit whose taste, sight and smell is more Christmasy than the mandarin? I think not.

Aside: As late as the 1950s and early 60s, apples and oranges were luxury items here in Iceland that were available only at Christmas. Even EPI remembers when crates of apples arrived just before Christmas, and how absolutely special they were. When I was a little girl this was changed, although still green apples were still a rarity. My grandmother, bless her, became known for her refrain "Would you like a green apple?", even after they became commonplace, which meant she really wanted to spoil you.

OH AND GUESS WHAT? THE FIRST YULE LAD ARRIVED THIS MORNING
That's right. Little kiddies throughout the land put their shoes on their windowsills last night and left their windows open a crack, in hopes of finding something nice in them this morning. Which would have been conditional on good behavior, because naughty children only get a potato in their shoe, as everyone knows.

The Yule Lad who came to town today from the mountains was Stekkjastaur, or 'Gimpy'. This guy had a wooden leg and a penchant for suckling the farmers' sheep for their milk - for as you will know if you've been paying attention, each Yule Lad has his own distinct and very mischievous personality. The problem was that the wooden leg made it difficult for old Stekkjastaur to get underneath the sheep - a dilemma that I'm sure most of us have encountered at one time or another [not].

There is a delightful set of poems about the Yule Lads, composed by late Icelandic poet Jóhannes úr Kötlum, that can be found on Garðar's wonderful Yule site, with the accompanying English translations. Just make sure you click on the drummer boy to take you to the Yule Lad of the day.

SO, WAIT. IS THIS THE ICELAND YULE REPORT, OR...?
Oh, you want weather? It's been beautiful, the sky all pink-ish and lurrvely, and Mt. Esja across the bay looks like a big delicious cream torte with all the snow, which note bene is sadly absent here in the capital. Temps currently right at the freezing mark, sunrise was at 11.11 and sunset at 15.32.

PS. The outstanding requests will be addressed tomorrow and/or over subsequent days, as needed. Yo.