Iceland's Dark Lullabies
Seriously...22 Joulu 2017

Iceland's Dark Lullabies

Dreaming of a Dark Christmas, in Iceland

At the darkest time of the year in Iceland scary creatures come out to play. Storyteller Andri Snær Magnason used to be terrified by his grandmother's Christmas tales of Gryla the 900 year old child eating hag and her thirteen troll sons - the Yule Lads - who would come down from the mountains looking for naughty children in the warmth of their homes. These dark lullabies partly hark back to a pre-Christian Christmas when people worshipped the Norse gods.

As Iceland opens up to global influences after centuries of isolation Andri travels from farmstead to lava field and reflects on these traditions: whether the elves still crash your house to throw a Christmas party or the cows still talk on New Year's Eve; and what happens when you have to spend Christmas alone, locked inside Ikea?

Featuring the Graduale Nobile Choir conducted by Árni Heiðar Karlsson

Partially recorded in Binaural Stereo. Listen on headphones for the best effect.

Additional sound design by Phil Channell

Producer Neil McCarthy.

Jaksot(484)

A Dentist's Life

A Dentist's Life

In February 2024, the NHS dental crisis hit the headlines as hundreds of people queued outside a dental practice in Bristol to register as NHS patients. It was the latest sign of the severity of the n...

3 Touko 202428min

Counterfeit Characters

Counterfeit Characters

What do Artificial Intelligence and digital technology mean for actors and their relationship with audiences?Leading acting coach Geoffrey Colman, who has spent his working life on the sets of Hollywo...

26 Huhti 202429min

Home Fires

Home Fires

Richard King explores the past and present of the second homes debate in Wales, revisiting the story of Meibion Glyndwr – active terrorists on British soil for almost 15 years. The proliferation of ...

23 Huhti 202428min

Mila’s Legacy

Mila’s Legacy

How many medicines can you think of created for just one person? The likelihood is none - which is why the world hasn’t heard of milasen yet. But its creation, and the efforts behind it, could build...

16 Huhti 202428min

Protein: Powerhouse or Piffle?

Protein: Powerhouse or Piffle?

Take a trip around the supermarket and you'll see shelves of products claiming to be 'high in protein'. Scroll through your social media and you'll find beautiful, sculpted people offering recipes and...

12 Huhti 202428min

Rwanda Thirty Years On

Rwanda Thirty Years On

Victoria Uwonkunda makes an emotional journey back to Rwanda, where she grew up. It’s the first time she’s visited since the age of 12, when she fled the 1994 genocide with her family.Victoria retrace...

9 Huhti 202428min

Dehumidified

Dehumidified

One baffling online scam – involving a £138 dehumidifier – and a humiliated BBC producer who will not rest until she has a return address for it.January 2024. Polly Weston’s toddler has a terrible cou...

5 Huhti 202428min

Do We Still Need the Pips?

Do We Still Need the Pips?

To mark the centenary of the Greenwich Time Signal on the BBC, Paddy O'Connell asks the unaskable - Do We Still Need the Pips?First broadcast at 9.30pm on Feb the 5th 1924, the six pips of the Greenwi...

2 Huhti 202429min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

olipa-kerran-otsikko
i-dont-like-mondays
sita
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
kaksi-aitia
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
uutiscast
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
kolme-kaannekohtaa
joku-tietaa-jotain-2
mamma-mia
aikalisa
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
rss-murhan-anatomia
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
rss-nikotellen
meidan-pitais-puhua
rss-haudattu
loukussa