2016Christmas - First Day Cover

In former times in rural Iceland, people worked with great zeal to complete the work that had to be done before Christmas. Work on wool products took precedence over all other labour. Hand-knitted garments meant that you had a balance at the merchant’s and the woollen products had to be finished in time for Christmas. It was important that everyone was well dressed when the Christmas celebrations came, and that no one fell victim to the Yule Cat, a mythical creature used to make sure people finished their chores before Christmas. “Everyone gets something nice, at least candles and cards”, according to a much-loved Christmas carol.