How we inherited Christmas from

THE VIKING YULE

The celebration of Yule in Scandinavia predates the Christian holiday by thousands of years

Winter Solstice, the time of the year when the days get longer and the sun begins to return was truly a cause for celebration among our ancestors in Scandinavia. Their Midwinter Feast lasted at least twelve days. So there are the twelve days of Christmas.

Most so-called Christmas traditions are rooted deep in ancient Yule rituals, many of them coming from the Vikings. Historical evidence indicates that Jesus was not born on December 25, but in the Spring. Why is then Christmas celebrated on December 25? A common theory is that the Christian church designated this date as the day of Christ's birth to coincide with the Nordic Midvinter Solstice celebrations, as well as with a Roman midwinder fest called Saturnalia, in order to "facilitate" the conversion of "heathens" to Christianity.

At Midwinter, or Solstice, the Vikings honored their Asa Gods with religious rituals and feasting. They sacrificed a wild boar to Frey, who was their God of fertility and farming, to assure a good growing season in the coming year. The meat was then cooked and eaten at the feast. This is the origin of today's Christmas ham in Scandinavia.

During the festivities they burned a giant Sunwheel, which was put on fire and rolled down a hill, to entice the Sun to return. Some theorize that this is the origin of the Christmas wreath.

Another Viking tradition was the Yulelog. It was a large oak log decorated with sprigs of fir, holly, or yew. They carved runes on it, asking the Gods to protect them from misfortune in the coming year. A  piece of the log was always saved to protect the home during the coming year, and to use to light next year's fire. Today, most know the Yulelog as a cake or cheese log rolled in nuts.

Even the Christmas tree tradition goes back to pre-Christian times. The Vikings decorated evergreen trees with pieces of food and clothes, small statues of the Gods, carved runes, etc., to entice the tree spirits to come back in the spring.

Ancient myths also surround the Mistletoe. The Vikings believed it could resurrect the dead, a belief that was connected to a legend about the resurrection of Balder, their God of Light and Goodness, who was killed by an arrow of mistletoe and later resurrected from the dead when the tears of his mother Frigga turned the red mistletoe berries white.

The Yule Goat, (Swedish julbock, Finnish joulupukki, Norwegian julebukk) is one of the oldest Scandinavian Christmas symbols. Its origin is the legend about theThundergod Thor who rode in the sky in a wagon pulled by two goats. An old custom was for young people to dress up in goat skins and go from house to house and sing and perform simple plays. They were then rewarded with food and drink. The Yule Goat at one time also brought Yule gifts. This character was later replaced with "jultomten" (Santa Claus).

Our pre-Christian ancestors would dress up someone to represent Old Man Winter, who was welcomed into homes to join in the festivities. He was dressed in a fur coat with a hood. Father Christmas traveled either by foot or on a giant white horse.   Some think that this horse may have been Odin's horse Sleipnir and that Father Christmas was originally Odin, who was often depicted with a long beard. When the Vikings conquered Britain in the 8th and 9th centuries, he was introduced there and  became the English Father Christmas.

Today, Viking Yule is celebrated in reconstructed Viking Villages such as Foteviken in Skåne and Jörvik in England. Jörvik was a Viking town that was found in 1970 under the current town York. It has now been reconstructed and is a big tourist attraction and museum, where visitors in December can make Christmas decorations with the Vikings, listen to Viking legends and hang their wishes in Odin's Yule Tree. Viking style Yule is also celebrated by Asatruer, who are people reviving the old Nordic religion, called Asatru.

Of course, our Scandinavian forefathers were not alone in celebrating the Winter Solstice. All over the world, and throughout history, people have celebrated the sun's return after the winter with a wide diversity of rituals and traditions. And still are.

Yule in the Old Norse Religion - Thor's Goats - Yule around the World and in History