‘In Serbia, women shower men with nuts’: readers’ top Christmas traditions from their travels

Unruly Icelandic ‘lads’, mass football, kindly witches … our tipsters revel in festive legend and ritual. Scroll down to see the winning tip

According to legend, the Yule Lads are the sons of a troll named Grýla and come down one by one from the mountains to cause trouble but also to leave gifts in the shoes of children. The first to arrive, on 11 December, is Stekkjastaur, who bothers the sheep (he tries to drink milk straight from the ewe’s teat) in Icelanders’ farms. The next day Giljagaur arrives: he is known for stealing the froth from cow’s milk. On the 13th, it’s Stúfur, who steals food from frying pans. Then there’s Þvörusleikir (spoon-licker), Pottaskefill (pot-scraper), Askasleikir (bowl-licker), Hurðaskellir (door-slammer), Skyrgámur (skyr yoghurt-gobbler), Bjúgnakrækir (steals sausages), Gluggagægir (window-peeker), Gáttaþefur (door-sniffer), Ketkrókur (meat hook) and Kertasníki (candle-beggar). And then, in the same order in which they came, when the last Yule Lad has departed, Christmas is over.
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