14 Days to Go 1 Day to Hanukkah
The rules with this seem simple, you are supposed to leave it an offering (no, put the first born child down, what are you doing?) you are supposed to get new clothes before Christmas Eve, even new socks work , this giant cat will prowl Iceland (and not knock down anything, hmmm) and check if the children have gotten new clothes of some sort, if not it will eat them, (that's a bit harsh)
more after the jump (scare)
- You all know the Yule Cat
And that Cat was huge indeed.
People didn't know where he came from
Or where he went.
He opened his glaring eyes wide,
The two of them glowing bright.
It took a really brave man
To look straight into them.
His whiskers, sharp as bristles,
His back arched up high.
And the claws of his hairy paws
Were a terrible sight.
He gave a wave of his strong tail,
He jumped and he clawed and he hissed.
Sometimes up in the valley,
Sometimes down by the shore.
He roamed at large, hungry and evil
In the freezing Yule snow.
In every home
People shuddered at his name.
If one heard a pitiful "meow"
Something evil would happen soon.
Everybody knew he hunted men
But didn't care for mice.
He picked on the very poor
That no new garments got
For Yule - who toiled
And lived in dire need.
From them he took in one fell swoop
Their whole Yule dinner
Always eating it himself
If he possibly could.
Hence it was that the women
At their spinning wheels sat
Spinning a colorful thread
For a frock or a little sock.
Because you mustn't let the Cat
Get hold of the little children.
They had to get something new to wear
From the grownups each year.
And when the lights came on, on Yule Eve
And the Cat peered in,
The little children stood rosy and proud
All dressed up in their new clothes.
Some had gotten an apron
And some had gotten shoes
Or something that was needed
- That was all it took.
For all who got something new to wear
Stayed out of that pussy-cat's grasp
He then gave an awful hiss
But went on his way.
Whether he still exists I do not know.
But his visit would be in vain
If next time everybody
Got something new to wear.
Now you might be thinking of helping
Where help is needed most.
Perhaps you'll find some children
That have nothing at all.
Perhaps searching for those
That live in a lightless world
Will give you a happy day
And a Merry, Merry Yule
You may ask, what about those who really can't afford new clothes? Good question random person. Well then hopefully it makes the kids who can get new clothes generous to give of themselves to those who can't .
Meanwhile there's something else to worry about for Christmas in Iceland. (What are you guys doing up there?) but that's for another post.
You can read more about the Yule cat in these interesting articles
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/each-christmas-icelands-yule-cat-takes-fashion-policing-extreme-180961420/
https://nerdist.com/icelands-people-eating-yule-cat-wishes-you-a-fashionable-christmas/
https://web.archive.org/web/20050108092720/http://www.simnet.is/gardarj/yule11.htm
Never looking at my cat the same way , and go buy new clothes.
Radio Station of the Day
I must apologize for not having a post yesterday. So today's station is two stations. From Mount Pleasant , IA we have KILJ-AM and KILJ-FM these two stations are related and they are both playing Christmas music. There are other things to note : they do have news updates and commercials and some local area related stuff, but if that doesn't bother you too much then these are good stations. If you are in the area you can listen on AM1130 and 105.5 FM . Online on their site here Search tune in for KILJ both streams in the search are the two different stations. |