麻豆约拍

At the darkest time of the year in Iceland scary creatures come out to play.

Storyteller Andri Sn忙r Magnason used to be terrified by his grandmother's Christmas tales of Gryla the 900 year old child eating hag and her 13 troll sons - the Yule Lads - who would come down from the mountains looking for naughty children in the warmth of their homes. These dark lullabies partly hark back to a pre-Christian Christmas when people worshipped the Norse gods.

As Iceland opens up to global influences after centuries of isolation Andri travels from farmstead to lava field and reflects on these traditions: whether the elves still crash your house to throw a Christmas party or the cows still talk on New Year's Eve; and what happens when you have to spend Christmas alone, locked inside Ikea?

Featuring the Graduale Nobile Choir conducted by 脕rni Hei冒ar Karlsson

Additional sound design by Phil Channell.

Producer: Neil McCarthy

First broadcast on 麻豆约拍 Radio 4 in December 2017.