Traditional Christmas Greeting: "Gledileg Jol"
Location: Scandinavia
Tree Type: Traditional

Decorations:
- The snowflake ornaments represent the Christmas snow.
- The elves represent the Christmas goblins or elves (Jolasveninar)
- The candles are made of mutton tallow and are fastened to the branches with wire.

Traditions:
Thirteen sprites known as Yule Lads proclaim the start of Christmas each year in Iceland. They begin arriving on December 12th and one more comes each day until all thirteen are present for Christmas Eve. After the 25th they leave one by one as well, until homes are free of them after the 12th day of Christmas on January 6. During their stay, the Yule Lads lay pranks and cause mischief. With names like Door Slammer, Window Peeper, and Sausage Snatcher, it's easy to guess the types of trouble they tend to cause. In addition to wrecking havoc the Yule lads come to reward or punish children for their behavior during the year. Each child polished his or her shoes and places them next to the window. In the morning, good children find their shoes stuffed with goodies, while naughty ones discover rotten potatoes.

The night of December 23rd is heralded as Porlaksmessa in honor of the 12th Century Icelandic priest Porlakur Porlaksson. People in Iceland usually celebrate by eating boiled potatoes and a fish called skate.

As expected, Christmas Eve brings with it a lavish holiday feast. Venison goose and smoked lamb called Hangikjot usually make up the main courses and are accompanied by thin fried bread known as laufabraud, cookies, cakes, and sweet fried dough called kleinur. Presents are usually opened after dinner and in Iceland always include at least one new piece of clothing for each family member. This tradition comes from the fear of a beast called the Yule Cat. Any person who has not worked faithfully during the autumn (and thus was not rewarded with new clothes) is said to ‘go to the Yule Cat.'

Light is an important part of Icelandic Christmas traditions, as can be seen on New Year's Eve. In addition to the fireworks that proclaim the holiday, people in Iceland gather around huge bonfires for most of the evening. Due to the short days and early darkness, Christmas lights illuminate nearly all homes and shops, and remain until the season ends and the last Yule Lad departs on January 6.