The Yule or Viking “Christmas” – History Archives | Your disclosure page

The Christmas to which we are accustomed has been greatly influenced by the traditions of the vikingsbridging the gap, they celebrated the solstice winter calling yule to this festivity, in which they celebrated the end of a stage and the beginning of the new Year.

To continue talking about our beloved Vikings, we want to take advantage of these important dates to talk about the “Christmasviking. Obviously the Vikings did not celebrate Christmas, they celebrated, like many other cultures, the arrival of the winter solstice: the longest night of the year, as a pagan holiday.

This holiday celebrated by the Germanic peoples (Vikings included, let’s not forget where it came from) was known as Yule or Yuletide – and today the Danes still call it “Jul”. Originally it lasted twelve days, coinciding with the winter solstice, around December 21, and consisted mainly of a family party. Normally the solstices were related to fertility and ancestor worship, and this celebration was no exception. Symbolically it means the cult of nature, at the end of darkness, let us remember that in geographical areas located so far north the sun shines by its absence (pun intended), even more so on those dates when most of the time the sun it is hidden, that is why the end of the darkest days is celebrated and the lengthening of the days is welcomed again.

The Yule was considered a time of rest, the end of the work cycle, the end of the year. This is why fertility takes on special importance, asking for good harvests and prosperity for the year that was about to begin, it was also drunk, of course, for years and peace: “til aar og fred”. On the occasion of this festivity, sacrifices of goods and animals were offered to the gods, of course, and they even toasted with them, offering a barrel of beer for this reason.

But let’s go by parts, Yule was celebrated with a great sacrifice, dedicated to the gods of protection and fertility, Frey and Thor, to continue with a great banquet where they ate the animals they sacrificed. But something is missing… and the beer? By Odin! You cannot miss beer at a Viking party, in fact, the Vikings had different types of beers for different occasions (weddings included). In this case the jólaöl was drunk.

I almost feel like I’m hearing the din and laughter from the banquet (or maybe it’s my cousins ​​screaming and running around the house, much like a Viking horde). Apart from games, drinks, food and fun, there was also hospitality, another characteristic feature of these dates. Lodging was offered with the greatest attention and tributes to those who arrived. As a point, the banquet was held in front of the tombs of relatives and in their honor.

Let’s now see some rituals and traditions related to Yule:

Yule Log:

This tradition was about lighting a large log from the previous year, which was to burn overnight. Its flames frightened off evil spirits and its ashes were spread over the fields the next morning in the belief that it would bring good harvests next year.

Yule Goat:

A goat, yes. Curiously, it is a symbol par excellence in the Scandinavian countries at Christmas. Thor, the god of thunder, drove a chariot pulled by two goats, with the peculiarity that he could feed on them and then revive them by covering the bones with his skin and through the power of his hammer, and these were the animals that were sacrificed in your Honor. Thor was also considered the protector god of the peasants, of justice, the crops and the weather, which is why in this part of the celebration he was the absolute protagonist.

In the 19th century, the goat was the animal that was associated with being a bearer of gifts. Imagine the figure of Santa Claus, but instead of thinking of a man with a white beard and dressed in red… Well, a goat with a sack with gifts on top.

Yule Boar:

The typical Christmas ham, not even in that we are original, this was an ancient tradition of the Germanic peoples that has survived to this day.

Wassailing:

This consisted of going wassai around town, that is, toasting and singing. Its peculiarity is that it was not only toasted with people, but it could also be toasted with elements of nature for a prosperous new year. This would lead over time to the practice of going from door to door singing Christmas carols (or traditional songs), they even sang to the orchards to ask for fertility and good harvests.

The Yule Tree:

A tree was placed under the roof that recalled the Yggdrasil, the Great Ash of Norse mythology from which the Nine Worlds hang. Obviously it makes one think that this is where the tradition of the Christmas tree comes from. Saint Boniface, evangelizer of Germany, cut down a tree consecrated to Thor or Yggdrasil and placed a pine tree in its place, signifying the perennial love of God. He would later decorate it, in such a way that in theory this is the origin of our tradition.

All this is very familiar to us… And it is not for less, since Christmas comes from this pagan festival. Christians assimilated these winter solstice festivities for Christmas. An error would be to consider only the Vikings or Germans as pagan peoples, in fact, the Celts, the Iberians, the Romans… All these peoples had their winter solstice celebrations. Since with the rise of Christianity the Church understood that they could not change these pagan festivities, what they did was adapt them and turn them into Christian celebrations.

It was in the 4th century when the birth of the Sun was no longer celebrated to make way for the birth of Jesus and the term Christmas was established.

Bibliography:

Boyer, Regis. The daily life of the Vikings (800-1050). 2nd ed. Jose Olaneta

San Jose Beltran, Laia. The Valkyrie’s Vigil Retrieved from: https://thevalkyriesvigil.com