On the evening of December 11, Icelandic children place a shoe in the window before going to bed. By morning, the first of the thirteen Yule Lads has arrived.
His name is Stekkjastaur, or Sheep-Cote Clod. He begins the nightly visits that children look forward to in the days before Christmas. But this stiff-legged visitor has an older reputation, and it has rather more to do with sheep than presents.
A Shoe in the Window
A surprise in the shoe means a Yule Lad has stopped by during the night. The shoe stays in the window for the thirteen visits leading up to Christmas, with a different Lad arriving each night.
These mischievous fellows are said to know who has behaved well. Finding out what they have left is part of the excitement of waking up.
The Milk Thief With Stiff Legs
In the old stories, Stekkjastaur sneaks into the sheep sheds, hoping to steal milk from the ewes. The sheep get little peace while he is about.
His appetite is one thing; his ability to satisfy it is another. With two stiff peg-legs, he finds it difficult to get the milk he wants. The awkward intruder is as much a figure of mischief as a menace.
When the Sheep Give Him Away
Sheep were kept indoors during the winter, sometimes beneath the baðstofa, the farmhouse’s main living and sleeping room.
When the sheep began to bleat, the story offered an explanation: Stekkjastaur had arrived. The familiar sounds of farm life became part of the Christmas folklore.
First to Arrive, First to Leave
For his first day, Stekkjastaur has the place to himself. Then the other Yule Lads begin to arrive, one after another.
He stays until December 25, when he becomes the first to head home. First to arrive, first to leave: that is Stekkjastaur’s place in the Christmas procession. His departure does not mark the end of Iceland’s Christmas season.
Stekkjastaur in Verse
The first of them was Sheep-Cote Clod.
He came stiff as wood,
to prey upon the farmer’s sheep
as far as he could.
He wished to suck the ewes,
but it was no accident
he couldn’t, he had stiff knees
– not too convenient
The Ram Gets the Last Word
The Sheep-Cot Clod verse
When this clumsy fellow entered the sheep-cot,
he gave the sheep no peace nor rest.
He was having such great fun
until the ram came up to check on the intruder
and went straight for the Lad,
butting Sheep-Cot Clod into the muck
The First Visitor of Christmas
Stekkjastaur brings a little of the old sheep shed into the modern Christmas season: an appetite for milk, two unhelpful legs, and a reputation the sheep would rather do without. For children watching their windows, his arrival begins thirteen nights of anticipation.
Next comes Giljagaur, the Gully Gawk. Meet the rest of the Yule Lads, or explore the darker story of their mother, Grýla.
Further reading: The Icelandic Tourist Board on the Yule Lads.
