I recently came across a rather disturbing bit of folklore: The Icelandic Yule Lads (Jólasveinar). It’s a 17th-century tale of thirteen figures, or lads, each representing a different threat, who arrive on the days leading up to Christmas. One is called Spoon-Licker. He represents the importance of eating your food. In a time and culture in which malnutrition was a real threat during winter and waste was dangerous, he encouraged children to eat all their food. Another lad was Window-Peeper. He looks through windows,