Published December 24, 2017
It was a sad day for Yule Lads, as the last of Grýla and Leppalúði’s came face-to-face with a harsh reality of our modern times: kids just aren’t as excited about candles as they used to be.
“Kertasnikir was following around my friends and I asking us for candles. And we were like ‘we don’t have any candles. why would we have any candles?’ and he was like ‘kids love candles.’ and we were like, ‘nah, man. Kids don’t love candles,’” explained one Reykjavík teen of his encounter with the Yule Lad this morning.
The Grapevine caught up with Kertasnikir, on Skólavörðurstígur, where the Yule Lad was admittedly downtrodden.
“Young people don’t appreciate wax anymore, which means that I don’t get to steal and eat their wax anymore. It’s the end of an era. Who am I if not a candle stealing mischief maker? Does my life have any purpose? Who am I? What is the meaning of life? I’m so confused,” the Yule Lad rambled on.
Noted good sport and celebrated artist, Halldór Baldursson, watched Kertasnikir’s existential crisis and captured his likeness with pen and paper. Halldór’s sketch, along with his sketches of the other 12 Yule Lads that came before Kertasnikir, have been turned into fun collectible figurines by the good people at Icemart. Pick them up to add some Icelandic holiday cheer to your home.
