Krampus and Gryla

As we are using trolls for the Yule Lads in our holiday decor because that's what they are, here is a perfect Nyform we found for Spoon-Licker or Þvörusleikir, the 4th Yule Lad. 

Before the 13 Yule Lads of Iceland were turned into 13 cute Santas they were 13 trolls, and so in our holiday set up, we keep them as they are. Our custom of little Stufur, the small and 3rd Yule Lad. He's bringing Nicky a Christmas tree he just yanked up out of the ground like a nice helpful troll.

Part 1, Krampus

There had been food and drink and more drink and dancing and wild elf music and trolls wrestling the Yule Cat which was always entertaining. Krampus's cousins always got drunk and wanted to wrestle Yule and though Gryla discouraged it, it ended up happening anyway. The big cat's claws would usually do some mild damage that Nick's Mrs. would fuss over. As it happened big tough trolls enjoyed being fussed over by Nick's Mrs.

 Krampus did not. She made him uneasy. She was too... nice. She never got upset over troll claws accidentally tearing her blankets when he and Gryla used the guest room, and she never begrudged Gryla's thirteen brothers all the cookies they could eat. She was not normal! The fact that she and Gryla were so close annoyed him. Nick said that he was jealous and perhaps he was. He didn't like Gryla giving her time to anyone but him. Last night at the party, though, Gryla had remained at his side the entire time. No going off to giggle and have silly girl talk. They'd danced together and eaten and shopped among the Elvin crafters who had come to show off their jewelry and silver dishes as they did every new years eve. Nick always threw a huge bash to celebrate a year's work over and done and done well. They had a few days off before the elves were back to making toys. Occasionally one of them would ask Krampus to help mend a machine if it broke, but aside from that he and Gryla were free to rest. They did not return to Iceland until the spring, and when they did it was to sleep the warm months away until the fall. New Years Eve was always the time to kick up their heals and shake off the weight of the recently diminished naughty list before it started to grow again, a thing that was always rapid and inevitable. And kick up their heals they had. The naughty list had gotten to be... a lot over the past few years. In the 1980s things were still okay, but in a blink, naughty had become evil more and more frequently. How it got to them, he and his Gryla. It pressed upon their sensibilities, nagged at their souls and urged them to correct it, and they tried. Which was why they were so drained by the end of the year and ready for Nick's party. Only this time they'd gone a bit too hard, and he did not feel well. He was having dreams of throwing up when Gryla's voice jolted him from sleep. To his relief, he had not thrown up!

Part 2, Gryla

The ball had dropped and a new year had arrived, but the memory of all that was rather hazy for everyone at the home of the elf called Santa Nick. The party had been hard, and full of revelry as per usual. Christmas was done, and there was plenty to celebrate before the next year's work began. Mrs. Claus always went all out with the food and drinks, and elves came from far and near to perform. Singers, dancers, jugglers, crafters, it was always quite the extravaganza. Rarely were the mornings after a living torment. Gryla could not remember a hang-over this bad in... what 400 years? She lay curled on the bed of Nicky's guest room, dismally holding on while the room swung to and fro. Krampus lay beside her breathing heavily, still quite asleep. After the clock had struck midnight and they'd had another glass of champagne, she'd gone wandering among the jewelry crafters. She recalled buying a large faceted black onyx ring and then everything went blank. Perhaps there had been more drinks, perhaps some dancing with Krampus, but it was all more than vague. And now she was here, awake with her head pounding like a stampeding elephant and her belly churning as if it were trying to make butter. Ug. The idea of butter made her gag silently, squeezing her eyes closed as she offered up a wordless prayer to whatever god oversaw throwing up that she did not do it here and now. "Sissa, Mrs. Claus says breakfast." The voice hissing through the door belonged to her youngest brother, Kertas. "Go away, Kert," she bit out. Her words roused Krampus, who gave a soft groan. "Not so loud, Babe. It hurts my head... Even my horns," he added after a silent moment of contemplative observation. Relating to his pain, Gryla felt contrite. "Sorry, Babe," she whispered. "Love you." "You more," he whispered back. They lay together in miserable and companionable silence in their cocoon of pain. Trolls weren't supposed to get hang-overs! They were a tougher lot. They could survive being demonized by foolish mortals just because they had horns, hooves, and tails, so what was a bottle or four of hard spirits going to do to them? Mixing the spirits with champagne had been the problem. She knew it. He knew it, and every few centuries, they forgot what they knew when they were too drunk to remember.

Count Down to Christmas,Krampus style, 2 days to go!

Krampus here again. Today we take a pause for the cause, in this case, the celebration of Winter Solstice. We honor it all around here, Yule, which lasts through some of January, Winter Solstice, and of course Christmas. It's a party in the Northern way! Today we're all deep in our cups, or rather drinking horns. All the elves, me and Nick, my Gryla and her 13 brothers, just about everyone besides our parents, because parents are no fun at a party, am I right? Of course I am! As per usual, a big thanks to Nick's wife for making all the wonderful food. She's had me and Gryla in the kitchen a bit to help today, so let no one say that she is not a brave woman... or elf... woman elf...That's it, sorry I have had many ginger brandies and off to have many more. Happy Winter Solstice to all and to all a good night.

Oh and be good, because we are watching.

Shocking Secrets of the Yule Lads Family Tree!

Meet us all. There's Santa Nick, the elf who started it all, spreading joy during the coldest darkest time of the year when it is most needed to raise the spirits of the humans so that they are happy and don't do more evil. Then there is his best friend, the Troll of Justice, Krampus. He became so when he saw a need to fill of punishing the naughty when they did things that ruined people's good cheer that Nick was kind enough to spread. Yes I know you've heard that Krampus is a Christmas devil, but long before Christians and their devils, trolls roamed the mountains. Trolls with horns, fur, hooves, horns and tails much like yes, Krampus. The name Krampus means claw, and he reaches out with claws of justice each year so if you don't feel his whip or chains, your luck will go very wrong in late December or early January if he has set his sights on you. Then there's yours truly, Gryla. My name means growler, and trust me, you don't want me growling unless you're Krampus as for anyone else it means such bad news. Speaking of the lady behind the man, Nick's wife is my best friend and the kindest elf you'd ever want to know unless you cross her, then she will freeze you out, literally. It is epic. Don't tick her off. Just don't. Otherwise, she makes the best cookies ever. It takes more than the four of us to make Christmas or Yuletide run smoothly, though. Nicky has many helper elves and each has their own charming little personality. For example, there is sweet little Holly with her gleaming red hair who cries when my and Krampus's pet cat, Yule, eats naughty children. She gets worked up every year, the poor dear, no matter how many times she's seen it happen. Then there is Snowflake, a trickster elf who would run with my thirteen brothers, the Yule Lads all the time if he could get away with it. Nick thinks elf magic added to their troll pranks would be far too dangerous long term, though, so he keeps their socializing to a minimum. There is Bluebell, the cheerful yet serious elf who drives Nicky's sleigh and his bff Black Pieter. He's probably my personal favorite. He helps Krampus out with his work because he did not enjoy making toys that brats only ended up breaking.

Then there are the Yule Lads, my 13 brothers. Most of them are useless tricksters who only want to eat and drink as much as they can of whatever they can get their claws on, though some have specific tastes. My brother Skyr, for example, literally obsesses over the yogurt of our homeland of Iceland. Another brother of mine only likes sausages over the holidays. That's a bit of a weird obsession if you ask me. Having thirteen trifling brothers gets very tiresome, let me tell you! Especially because in their later myths, humans wanted very much to domesticate me and tried to say they are all my children! Horror of horrors. I punish naughty brats, so why would I raise thirteen of them? Make it make sense, or else you might be on the naughty list!

I do have some more talented brothers, though, One can open doors. Yes he slams them shut too, but he opens them and that's the important thing. Doors are magical. They create ways between, which allows for faster modes of travel if you're a troll. My youngest brother, Kertas, has quite interesting abilities that deal with fire. That's all I shall say on that for now other than that he isn't as useless as he seems. My eldest brother Stek is the wise calm one of the lot, and the second eldest, Gil, is a very good watcher, and Yule is all about watching in the dark to make sure nothing comes out of it that should not. You are all welcome, because without us, things would be far darker for you all.

Hi girls,

Bet my man's love letter is more sweetly Gothic than anything you ever get in those silly modern texts from your pathetic human men. Alright, alright, I'll let you see what he wrote me, it's so sweet!

My dearest, most formidable Grýla, My heart, as cold and dark as the deepest December night, aches for the fiery passion that only a fellow punisher of naughty children can provide. While that jolly, red-suited do-gooder best friend of ours concerns himself with saccharine sweetness and "nice" lists, you and I understand the true balance of the season—the sheer delight in the wails of the wicked. When I hear your giant black cat's fierce purr, or think of the marvelous stew you make from the disobedient, I feel a warmth that even the North Pole's chill can't extinguish. Speaking of that, though, Nick and the Mrs. do insist that you come to Christmas dinner this year. For some reason, they are offended when we want to sleep through it, so I did RSVP for both of us to avoid conflict.

Yours,

Can be one tag and then maybe normal ones about harmful gossip, LOL and funny or whatever

There are powerful ancient beings living in the cold mountains of both Iceland and the Alpine region,but Iceland  is the only one to remember their trolls. Gryla and the Yule Lads are known to be trolls, but if you ask someone what Krampus is, they will say that he is a race all his one with many Krampus's running about (Strange, right?) Or they will claim he is a demon, or a half goat half demon, (Leaves one wondering what sort of drunken party that was!)

There is an elf by the name of Black Pieter or Zwarte Piet. Originally, he worked for Santa, but this happy stint ended around nine-hundred years ago or so. Pieter had worked for Nick, crafting toys with the other elves for nearly one hundred years at this point. One year he spent months making an elaborate toy castle for a very good child. When this child was given the castle with its wooden doors that slid open and closed, its rampart and mote and bridges that actually functioned, the child's badly behaved younger brother smashed it to bits out of envy! This made Pieter so angry that he lost his love for crafting toys at all. If his work was to be wasted, he just didn't want to do it at all.

The work of old Nick's best friend Krampus began to look far more appealing, so Pieter asked to work for him. Both Santa and Krampus were amenable to this arrangement, and it is working well to this very day.

Well, one Christmas, Pieter decided to try his hand at baking cookies for Krampus. Pieter knew that Krampus enjoyed ginger bread, and he'd come across a new recipe for ginger bread cookies that he felt he could improve upon. Though the elf, called Black Pieter due to his dark moods, was not normally a cook, he was inspired that holiday season to try his hand at the art out of desperation. He was quite unable to think of another worthy Yule gift for Krampus. So he made the cookies and they turned out very well. Krampus loved them, and asked for more. Pieter obliged and Krampus even shared with his best friend Santa while they were on their rounds that Christmas eve. Though Krampus told Santa that he could only have SOME of the cookies, Santa ended up eating them all. This should come as no real surprise, because Santa does have a bit of a cookie addiction, but Krampus did not take this into consideration. Instead, he became quite angry, vowing not to travel with Santa any longer. Instead they would meet up at the bar to go over the nice and naughty lists before and after making their rounds separately on Christmas eve. Krampus was still Nick's best friend, but he was no longer in the mood to ride with him, the cooky incident having spoiled the fun. The next year, Pieter attempted to soften the situation by making more of the delightful ginger bread cookies for Krampus. Before Krampus could eat them, however, the cookies leapt off the baking sheet, giving Mrs. Santa quite the start. Of course Pieter had to use her kitchen to make them! You didn't think Krampus actually bothers with an actual equipped kitchen, did you? He lives in a cave, how's he supposed to have a kitchen? Anyway, the cookies were ready to join Pieter and Krampus in punishing the naughty, fueled by Pieter's own general foul mood as well as Krampus's zest for punishing the naughty and his residual anger about Nick being piggish over the other cookies from the previous year. These feelings gave the gingerbread cookies a life of their own and they are active and doing the good work, assisting Krampus and Pieter to this day.