Video: Thoughty2
Iceland has its fair share of strange Christmas ...(1)..., from child-eating cats to Grýla the troll, but one in ...(2)..., the Yule Lads, holds a place in every Icelandic child’s ...(3)... In the past, they were seen as the mischievous sons of mountain trolls, harassing farmers and the ...(4)... population. But over time, the Yule Lads became much more benevolent, in the same way Santa Claus is portrayed today, as a ...(5)..., stocking-filling, bringer of joy.
On the night before December 12th children all over Iceland would put one of their ...(6)... out on the window-sill, then ...(7)... to bed with a smile on their faces, or a worried frown if they’d misbehaved. The thirteen Yule Lads would then come down one by one on the nights leading up to Christmas Eve. Depending on whether the children had been good or bad, the Yule Lads would leave ...(8)... and presents, or rotten ...(9)... in their shoes.
While potato-ey shoes were definitely a real ...(10)... for some kids, the Icelandic Folk Customs branch had to step in and ...(11)... parents, from giving out such extravagant gifts, as the Yule Lads were seen to be favouring some kids far more than others.
The awareness campaign advised parents, through media and kindergartens, hoping to reduce the festive ...(12)... between rich and poor families. The festive spirit of the Yule Lads remains well and ...(13)... today, perhaps because, today they more closely ...(14)... Santa Claus, than the more sullen ...(15)... of morose mountain trolls that their ancestors from the 1700s possessed.
Từ mới:
- troll: quái vật, người khổng lồ độc ác
- mischievous: tinh quái, ranh mãnh
- benevolent: nhân từ
- portrayed: mô tả, khắc họa
- window-sill: bậu cửa sổ
- frown: nét cau mày, vẻ lo lắng
- misbehaved: cư xử không tốt
- rotten: thối, hỏng
- step in: vào cuộc
- extravagant: đắt tiền
- sullen, morose: ảm đạm, rầu rĩ, buồn thảm