Grýla brings a darker kind of Christmas story. In this poem by Jóhannes úr Kötlum, her hunger depends on the behaviour of the children she watches. Good children leave her without a meal; naughty children give her a reason to come down from the rocks.
The poem appears below in English and Icelandic, alongside the existing illustrations and photographs. This is Part 1 of the collection; continue to Part 2 here.
Grýla’s Hunger: The Poem
A Christmas Without a Meal
The Poet Behind the Verses
The Hunger Behind the Christmas Warning
The poem’s warning is as sharp as Grýla’s appetite: the children’s good behaviour leaves the ogress hungry. Its closing lines ask them to keep the frightening couple from returning. That mixture of menace and mischief gives these Christmas verses their lasting mood.
Continue to Grýla’s poems, Part 2 →
For the folklore surrounding the verses, read Grýla’s story. You can also meet her sons in the Yule Lad collection.
