Video: Thoughty2
Iceland has its fair share of strange Christmas ...(1)... legends, from child-eating cats to Grýla the troll, but one in ...(2)... particular, the Yule Lads, holds a place in every Icelandic child’s ...(3)... heart. In the past, they were seen as the mischievous sons of mountain trolls, harassing farmers and the ...(4)... general population. But over time, the Yule Lads became much more benevolent, in the same way Santa Claus is portrayed today, as a ...(5)... magical, stocking-filling, bringer of joy.
On the night before December 12th children all over Iceland would put one of their ...(6)... shoes out on the window-sill, then ...(7)... head 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)... sweets and presents, or rotten ...(9)... potatoes in their shoes.
While potato-ey shoes were definitely a real ...(10)... concern for some kids, the Icelandic Folk Customs branch had to step in and ...(11)... discourage 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)... gap between rich and poor families. The festive spirit of the Yule Lads remains well and ...(13)... strong today, perhaps because, today they more closely ...(14)... resemble Santa Claus, than the more sullen ...(15)... image of morose mountain trolls that their ancestors from the 1700s possessed.
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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