I recently came across a rather disturbing bit of folklore: The Icelandic Yule Lads (Jólasveinar). It’s a 17th-century tale of thirteen figures, or lads, each representing a different threat, who arrive on the days leading up to Christmas. One is called Spoon-Licker. He represents the importance of eating your food. In a time and culture in which malnutrition was a real threat during winter and waste was dangerous, he encouraged children to eat all their food. Another lad was Window-Peeper. He looks through windows, watching for weakness in homes. He targets privacy and security, reinforcing the idea that nothing escapes moral surveillance. Meat-Hook steals meat directly from storage, targeting livestock and preserved food. Later, the lads were known for either leaving candies for obedient children or rotten potatoes for those who were disobedient. One can easily imagine the fear these figures instilled in Icelandic children. Most terrifying was the lad’s mother, a troll named Grýla, who would eat disobedient children.
While this may sound extreme to most readers, the purpose of the Yule Lads is very practical. They were intended to enforce obedience and hard work in a culture that had to deal with brutal winters in which survival depended on protecting food and livestock. Fear is an effective tactic for eliciting such obedience. And while we don’t threaten children with trolls, the echoes of this tradition are still very much present today at Christmas. Whether it’s Santa Claus leaving coal behind for disobedient children, or an Elf on the Shelf watching to see if the kids behave, many modern families employ fear as a way of eliciting obedience. I couldn’t help but think of the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” when I first heard about these thirteen Icelandic lads appearing on the thirteen days before Christmas. I must admit that I prefer the American version of the days leading up to Christmas over the 17th-century Icelandic version!
Of course, these are pagan or secular traditions, but the concept creeps into Christian storytelling as well. For example, we could look at Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Ebenezer Scrooge’s ghostly friend appears to him in chains, threatening the same fate if Scrooge doesn’t change his behavior. The child-eating troll is replaced with something far worse: everlasting judgment and torment in the afterlife. The threat of eternal suffering is seen as the greatest incentive to obedience and generosity. I think I’d rather take the troll.
The logic is familiar: Behave, or else.
The story of the Yule Lads and their troll mother underscores the fact that fear has long been a powerful instrument for moral control. Sadly, this is a common tactic within the church as well. Many evangelize with fear of hell rather than with the gift of eternal life. Often, pastors and theologians threaten the lake of fire when people are disobedient. Our motto at GES is: “Keep Grace in Focus.” This is true year-round, but as we consider the Christmas season and the birth of our Savior, it is especially true.
