The Yule Cat arrives at Lækjartorg — Oslo Tree to be felled in Heiðmörk
The lights on The Yule Cat will come on at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Lækjartorg.
Mayor Hildur Björnsdóttir will give a short speech and get help turning on The Yule Cat's lights. Grýla and Leppalúði will make a special trip into town for the lighting of their pet cat and likely join in the fun afterward. The Svanur Concert Band will play several Christmas songs to get everyone into the Christmas spirit.
The cat is about 5 meters tall, 6 meters wide, and illuminated with 6,500 LED lights. The Yule Cat was first installed in 2018 and has always attracted much attention from passersby. The Yule Cat's design is a collaboration among the City of Reykjavík, MK-Illumination in Austria and Garðlist.
The Yule Cat is one of Iceland's Yule spirits. It's enormous, as described in Jóhannes úr Kötlum's long poem about this monster said to eat those who don't get new clothes for Christmas.
The Christmas Market at Austurvöllur opens at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14.
Oslo Tree to be felled in Heiðmörk
Mayor Hildur Björnsdóttir will fell the Oslo Tree in the Reykjavík Forestry Association's woodland in Heiðmörk at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14.
The mayor will wear appropriate safety gear, receive tools for the job and be assisted by a Reykjavík Forestry Association staff member. The tree, a Sitka spruce about 50 meters tall, will then be set up at Austurvöllur, where its Christmas lights will be turned on Nov. 29, the first Sunday of Advent.
Participants will meet at Elliðavatnsbær at 11 a.m. and drive to the tree's location.
Light refreshments courtesy of the Norwegian Embassy will be served after the tree is felled.
