Christmas in Iceland: the 13 Yule Lads, Jólabókaflóð and what's open

Christmas in Iceland lasts 26 days, with 13 mischievous Yule Lads, a cat that eats people and a night of books. Plus what opens from 23 to 26 December.

Christmas in Iceland starts on 12 December, when the first of the 13 Yule Lads comes down from the mountains, and ends on 6 January. The big night is the 24th: church bells ring at six in the evening, families sit down to dinner and open presents, which almost always include a book. From the afternoon of the 24th to the 26th, almost everything closes. If you are thinking of spending the holidays in Iceland, here is what you will find and how to plan around it.

The 13 Yule Lads (jólasveinar)

Forget a single Santa. Iceland has thirteen brothers, the jólasveinar, sons of the troll Grýla and her husband Leppalúði. They used to be frightening; these days they are more mischievous than scary. One arrives each night from 12 December, and they leave one by one between 25 December and 6 January.

Children put a shoe on the windowsill every night. If they have been good, that night's Yule Lad leaves a sweet or a small gift. If not, a potato.

Each one has his habit, and his name gives it away:

Then there is the Yule Cat (Jólakötturinn), who, according to tradition, eats anyone who does not get new clothes for Christmas. The original moral was practical: whoever worked hard through the autumn got new clothes.

Jólabókaflóð: the Christmas book flood

Iceland publishes a huge number of books in the autumn, because the Christmas present is a book. The season is called Jólabókaflóð, "the Christmas book flood". Many households get a catalogue of the year's new titles, and the classic picture of the 24th is the whole family reading in bed with hot chocolate.

To get a taste of it, step into a Reykjavík bookshop in December. There are English translations of Icelandic authors, and it makes a far better souvenir than a fridge magnet.

Christmas food

• 23 December, Þorláksmessa: many families eat skata, fermented skate. The smell is powerful. Shops downtown stay open late and Laugavegur fills up.
• 24 December: the main dinner. Smoked lamb (hangikjöt), roast pork or ptarmigan (rjúpa).
• Laufabrauð: paper-thin fried bread, cut by hand into patterns.
• Malt og appelsín: malt drink mixed with orange soda. The whole country's Christmas drink.

More dishes, and which to try, in our guide to traditional Icelandic food.

What is open over Christmas

Hours change every year, so treat this as a guide and always confirm on each place's own website:

• Restaurants: very few on the evening of the 24th and on the 25th. Book weeks ahead or eat at your hotel.
• Public transport: Reykjavík's buses (Strætó) run a much reduced service; check straeto.is.
• Supermarkets: stock up on the 23rd for everything you need until the 26th.
• Lagoons and pools: many run shorter hours. Check each one's official website.

Light, snow and auroras

Around Christmas Reykjavík gets four to five hours of daylight. In return, the nights are the longest of the year, which is good news for the aurora if the sky clears. Christmas lights on houses and streets make the dark feel cosy rather than gloomy.

How to plan a holiday trip

• Arrive before the 23rd. You get the city at its liveliest, with shops open.
• Book dinners and accommodation early. December is high season.
• Keep the afternoon of the 24th and the 25th slow. A walk, a pool if one is open, a booked dinner and a book.
• Plan for the weather. Roads can close; check road.is and vedur.is. If you are driving, read driving in Iceland in winter.

Our 7-day Icelandic Experience runs from 13 to 19 December (as it does every month): it lines up with the first Yule Lads arriving and gets you home before Christmas Eve. It costs €2,439 (was €2,649) with hotels, transfers, a Spanish-speaking guide, the Secret Lagoon, a glacier walk and Vestrahorn. For the nights, the northern lights hunt from Reykjavík is €99, paid 48 hours before; ask us which nights we go out over the holidays.

Staying for New Year? Read New Year's Eve in Iceland. Booking terms are in the FAQ.

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