Christmas in Iceland

Hallgrímskirkja is just as impressive while lit up in the dark as it was when seen in broad daylight - even more so because we were able to see the beautiful stained glass better. We couldn't go very far into the sanctuary because people were setting up for tomorrow's Christmas Eve services.

The Hallgrímskirkja serves a Lutheran congregation and sits on top of the hilltop Skólavörðuholt. It can be seen from almost everywhere in Reykjavik. It was commissioned in 1937 and took 41 years to build, beginning in 1945. It is considered "Expressionist architecture because of its tower-like exterior, its rejection of traditional styles and its dynamic design" (Wikipedia again, unfortunately).

I'm looking forward to hearing the bells on Sunday morning.

As we were heading to City Hall, we found a Yule Lad projected on a building. McKelvie says all 13 can be found downtown - you just have to search for them - but this is the only one we saw today. According to Wikipedia: "The Yule Lads are the sons of Grýla and Leppalúði. They are a group of 13 mischievous pranksters who steal from or harass the population, and all have descriptive names that convey their favorite way of harassing. They come to town one by one during the last 13 nights before Yule. They leave small gifts in shoes that children have placed on window sills, but if the child has been disobedient, they instead leave a rotten potato in the shoe."

They all have terrible names, like Spoon Licker, Stubby, Door Slammer, and Window Peeper. The one who is supposed to come tonight is called Meat Hook.

"Current-day Grýla can detect children who are misbehaving year-round. She comes from the mountains during Christmas time to search nearby towns for her meal. She leaves her cave, hunts children, and carries them home in her giant sack. She devours children as her favorite snack. Her favorite dish is a stew of naughty kids, for which she has an insatiable appetite. According to legend, there is never a shortage of food for Grýla" (Wikipedia).Læs mere