Christmas dinner is a tempting prize for Ketkrókur—and he brings a hook to help himself. Known as Meat Hook, the twelfth Yule Lad arrives during the night of December 22nd, ready for the morning of December 23rd. Meat hanging overhead or waiting on the table is exactly what he hopes to find.
Christmas Dinner Within Reach
Ketkrókur has a particular taste for hangikjöt, whose name literally means “hanging meat.” In this story, the smoked meat hangs from the rafters, where his hook gives him a way to reach it. Putting dinner up high is little protection from a visitor who comes prepared.
A Hook Reaching for the Table
In the telling shared here, he is just as troublesome when the meat reaches the table. Hiding nearby, Ketkrókur waits for it to be set out, then reaches with his hook and snatches it away. The family has prepared the meal, but he would rather be the one to eat it.
The Thief at the Chimney Top
The separate verse below places him at the chimney top, looking down for smoked mutton and lowering his hook towards it. The two tellings give him different hiding places, but the same ambition: to carry off the Christmas meat before the household can enjoy it.
On January 5th, Ketkrókur returns home to Grýla, well fed after his Christmas visit. The meat is safe from this particular thief for another year—though his story gives you a playful reason to keep an eye on dinner.
Meat Hook in Verse
Meat Hook
Meat Hook, the twelfth one,
his talent would display
as soon as he arrived
on St. Thorlak’s Day
He snagged himself a morsel
of meat of any sort,
although his hook at times was
a tiny bit short.
Another Verse: Christmas Dinner Takes Flight
Meat Hook was a fancier of mutton well-smoked.
Sitting by the chimney top when darkness fell,
he looked down the chimney, and if he saw meat
deftly sent his hood down for his favourite meal.
The people on the farm gave a hue and cry
seeing their Christmas dinner flying away.
Keep the Christmas Dinner Close
Ketkrókur’s hook makes a simple theft feel wonderfully unsettling. The meal is ready, the household is hungry, and someone out of sight has his eye on the same prize. In this Christmas tale, dinner is not quite yours until you have eaten it.
Meet the previous visitor, Gáttaþefur, the Doorway Sniffer, then continue to the last brother, Kertasníkir. You can also meet their mother, Grýla, or explore all the Yule Lad stories.
