We arrived in Iceland on Christmas Eve and stayed past the new year. All the traditional Icelandic holiday hubbub was in full effect. One of their most unique folk traditions is the Christmas Cat or Yule Cat. This is a wood and metal installation of the Christmas Cat at the central round-about in downtown Akureyri. Bored and restless Icelandic youth cruise the circle endlessly on cold nights.
The tradition of the Cat is a relatively recent invention. The green eyes shown here are atypical, normally Yule Cat has red eyes. Wool is a principal export and industry for the island. As an initiative to boost wool revenues and the local economy people were told that anyone not gifted a new wool garment prior to Xmas would be mauled by a giant black, clawed and fanged, cat-creature in the night.
While we're on it, cats are a big part of Iceland city life in general. Cats have a log history of being here and were brought to the island early in it's settlement. House cats are everywhere; it's common to see them playing in the snow, in home windows, and hotels. I came home with a set of microfiber towels that say "cats rule the town"; part of an artist's series to describe Reykjavik from an outsiders perspective.