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Icelandic Christmas Folklore
Icelandic Christmas folklore depicts mountain-dwelling characters and monsters who come to town during Christmas. The stories are directed at children and are used to scare them into good behavior. The folklore includes both mischievous pranksters who leave gifts during the night and monsters who eat disobedient children. The figures are depicted as living together as a family in a cave and include: * Grýla, a giantess with an appetite for the flesh of mischievous children, whom she cooks in a large pot. Her husband Leppalúði is lazy and mostly stays at home in their cave. * The Yule Cat is a huge and vicious cat who lurks about the snowy countryside during Christmas time (Yule) and eats people who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve. * The Yule Lads are the sons of Grýla and Leppalúði. They are a group of 13 mischievous pranksters who steal from or harass the population and all have descriptive names that convey their favorite way of harassing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dimmuborgir
Dimmuborgir (''dimmu'' "dark", ''borgir'' "cities" or "forts", "castles"; pronounced ) is a large area of unusually shaped lava fields east of Mývatn in Iceland. The Dimmuborgir area is composed of various volcanic caves and rock formations, reminiscent of an ancient collapsed citadel (hence the name). The dramatic structures are one of Iceland's most popular natural tourist attractions. Formation The Dimmuborgir area consists of a massive, collapsed lava tube formed by a lava lake flowing in from a large Types of volcanic eruption, eruption in the Þrengslaborgir and Lúdentsborgir crater row to the East, about 2300 years ago. At Dimmuborgir, the lava pooled over a small lake. As the lava flowed across the wet sod, the water of the marsh started to boil, the vapour rising through the lava forming lava pillars from drainpipe size up to several meters in diameter. As the lava continued flowing towards lower ground in the Mývatn area, the top crust collapsed, but the hollow pilla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Laufabrauð
(, "leaf bread"; sometimes also called "snowflake bread" in English) is a traditional kind of Icelandic bread that is most often eaten in the Christmas season. Originating from northern Iceland but now eaten throughout the country, it consists of round, very thin flat cakes with a diameter of about 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inches), decorated with leaf-like, geometric patterns and fried briefly in hot fat or oil. can be bought in bakeries or made at home, either with ready-made dough or from scratch; patterns are either cut by hand or created using a heavy brass roller, the ' (, "leaf bread iron"). The most common pattern consists of rows of "V"-like flaps; each flap overlaps with the next one to form a braid-like design. The rows can then form a larger pattern, such as a snowflake or a letter. Leaf bread making at home is usually a family undertaking and often an essential part of the Christmas preparations, where several generations gather and take part in the decorating. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sausage
A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. When used as an adjective, the word ''sausage'' can refer to the loose sausage meat, which can be formed into patties or stuffed into a skin. When referred to as "a sausage", the product is usually cylindrical and encased in a skin. Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made from intestine, but sometimes from synthetic materials. Sausages that are sold raw are cooked in many ways, including pan-frying, broiling and barbecuing. Some sausages are cooked during processing, and the casing may then be removed. Sausage-making is a traditional food preservation technique. Sausages may be preserved by curing, drying (often in association with fermentation or culturing, which can contribute to preservation), smoking, or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yogurt
Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial Fermentation (food), fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bacteria produces lactic acid, which acts on milk protein to give yogurt its texture (food), texture and characteristic tart flavor. Cow's milk is the milk most commonly used to make yogurt. Milk from water buffalo, goats, sheep, ewes, mares, camels, and yaks are also used to produce yogurt. The milk used may be Milk#Creaming and homogenization, homogenized or not. It may be pasteurized or raw milk, raw. Each type of milk produces substantially different results. Yogurt is produced using a culture of Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus, ''Lactobacillus delbrueckii'' subsp. ''bulgaricus'' and ''Streptococcus thermophilus'' bacteria. In addition, other Lactobacillus, lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium, bifidobacteria a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skyr
Skyr ( ; ) is an Icelandic cultured dairy product originating in Norway. It has the consistency of strained yogurt, but a milder flavor. Skyr can be classified as a fresh sour milk cheese, similar to curd cheese consumed like a yogurt in the Baltic states, the Low Countries, Germany and Russia. It has been a part of Icelandic cuisine for centuries. Skyr has a slightly sour dairy flavor, with a hint of residual sweetness. It is traditionally served cold, either plain or with cream. Commercial manufacturers of skyr have added flavors such as vanilla, coffee, or fruit. History A staple of Icelandic diet since the Viking age, Skyr is mentioned in a number of medieval Icelandic sources, including Egil's saga and Grettis saga. It has been suggested that skyr was known throughout Scandinavia at the time of the settlement of Iceland, but eventually forgotten outside Iceland. The word skyr is related to the English word ''shear'' (to cut), referring to how the milk is split in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malnutrition
Malnutrition occurs when an organism gets too few or too many nutrients, resulting in health problems. Specifically, it is "a deficiency, excess, or imbalance of energy, protein and other nutrients" which adversely affects the body's tissues and form. Malnutrition is not receiving the correct amount of nutrition. Malnutrition is increasing in children under the age of five due to providers who cannot afford or do not have access to adequate nutrition. Malnutrition is a category of diseases that includes undernutrition and overnutrition. Undernutrition is a lack of nutrients, which can result in stunted growth, wasting, and underweight. A surplus of nutrients causes overnutrition, which can result in obesity. In some developing countries, overnutrition in the form of obesity is beginning to appear within the same communities as undernutrition. Most clinical studies use the term 'malnutrition' to refer to undernutrition. However, the use of 'malnutrition' instead of 'undernutrit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gully
A gully is a landform created by running water, mass movement, or commonly a combination of both eroding sharply into soil or other relatively erodible material, typically on a hillside or in river floodplains or terraces. Gullies resemble large ditches or small valleys, but are metres to tens of metres in depth and width and are characterised by a distinct 'headscarp' or 'headwall' and progress by headward (i.e. upstream) erosion. Gullies are commonly related to intermittent or ephemeral water flow usually associated with localised intense or protracted rainfall events, or snowmelt. Gullies can be formed and accelerated by cultivation practices on hillslopes (often gentle gradient) in farmland, and they can develop rapidly in rangelands from existing natural erosion forms subject to vegetative cover removal and livestock activity. Etymology The earliest known usage of the term is from 1657. It originates from the French word ''goulet'', a diminutive form of ''goule'' which m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Museum Of Iceland
National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, census-designated place * National, Nevada, ghost town * National, Utah, ghost town * National, West Virginia, unincorporated community Commerce * National (brand), a brand name of electronic goods from Panasonic * National Benzole (or simply known as National), former petrol station chain in the UK, merged with BP * National Car Rental, an American rental car company * National Energy Systems, a former name of Eco Marine Power * National Entertainment Commission, a former name of the Media Rating Council * National Motor Vehicle Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA 1900-1924 * National Supermarkets, a defunct American grocery store chain * National String Instrument Corporation, a guitar company formed to manufacture the first resonator g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Christmas And Winter Gift-bringers By Country
This is a list of Christmas and winter gift-bringer figures from around the world. The history of mythical or folkloric gift-bringing figures who appear in winter, often at or around the Christmas period, is complex, and in many countries the gift-bringer – and the gift-bringer's date of arrival – has changed over time as native customs have been influenced by those in other countries. While many though not all gift-bringers originated as religious figures, gift-bringing is often now a non-religious custom and secular figures exist in many countries that have little or no tradition of celebrating Christmas as a religious festival. Some figures are entirely local, and some have been deliberately and more recently invented. The main originating strands – all of which have their roots in Europe – are * the overlapping winter-based and religious Old Man traditions (St Nicholas, Santa Claus, Father Christmas, St Basil, Grandfather Frost), * the Christ Child traditions pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve of toys and candy or coal or nothing, depending on whether they are "naughty or nice". In the legend, he accomplishes this with the aid of Christmas elf, Christmas elves, who make the toys in Santa's workshop, his workshop, often said to be at the North Pole, and Santa Claus's reindeer, flying reindeer who pull his sleigh through the air. The modern figure of Santa is based on folklore traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas (European folklore), Saint Nicholas, the English figure of Father Christmas and the Folklore of the Low Countries, Dutch figure of ''Sinterklaas''. Santa is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Gift-bringer
A number of Midwinter or Christmas traditions in European folklore involve gift-bringers. Mostly involving the figure of a bearded old man, the traditions have mutually influenced one another, and have adopted aspects from Christian hagiography, even before the modern period. In Eastern Slavic countries, the figure is Father Frost. In Scandinavia, it is an elf-like figure or tomten who comes at Yule (and who sometimes also takes the form of a goat). In German-speaking Europe and Latin Europe, it became associated with the Christian Saint Nicholas. In some parts of Central Europe, there is a separate tradition of a young child or fairy-like being bringing presents, known as Christkind. Early modern England had Father Christmas, a character initially associated with feasting and good cheer, though he was not originally a gift bringer. From these European traditions, the North American figure of Santa Claus developed, beginning in the 1820s. The American figure in turn had consider ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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