Take, for instance, the mythical Icelandic giantess (ogre) Grýla, who lives in the mountains of Iceland with her 13 (seven dwarf-esque) sons, the Yule Lads, her third husband and a large black cat named Jólakötturinn. Said to come to town with Grýla and the Yule Lads, the myth of the Jólakötturinn is worthy of a blog all to itself as it is stalks the snowy countryside to devour anyone who has not received new clothes on Christmas Eve. It is believed that farmers used this belief to maintain maximum productivity among the wool workers. The premise is simple: work hard for material gain or slack off and get eaten by a giant cat. Honestly, I’m surprised that Hollywood hasn’t snatched that story line right up. You can read through the English translation of the poem that is passed down in Icelandic heritage here: Björk – Jólakötturinn (english Translation) Lyrics | Golyr.de.

As the legend goes, Grýla, her sons and her evil cat would all go out on Christmas to each get into their own trouble. Grýla would hunt the naughty children then boil them in her cauldron and devour them. She could only capture the naughty children and if those captured repented and were truly sorry for their misdeeds then she was bound to release them. While their mother was boiling the neighborhood children, the Yule Lads were wreaking havoc and chaos throughout the town. Just like the seven dwarfs, the Yuleman each had very unique personalities and their name represented the havoc they created:

• Sheep-Cot Clod – who suckles the farmer’s yews
• Gully Gawk – who steals the foam from the buckets of cow milk
• Stubby – the short one who steals food from the frying pans
• Spoon Licker – this one is pretty self-explanatory
• Pot Scraper (Licker) – steals the unwashed pots and pans and licks them clean
• Bowl Licker – steals the bowls of food from under the Icelanders beds (not sure why they had bowls of food under their bed…)
• Door Slammer – again, pretty self-explanatory. He would keep everyone awake by stomping around and slamming doors
• Skyr Gobbler – would eat up all the yogurt or Skyr as it is called in Iceland
• Sausage Swiper – would..surprisingly enough..steal sausage
• Window Peeper – a peeping Tom that would sometimes steal the things he saw inside
• Door Sniffer – this guy had a huge nose and an insatiable appetite for stolen baked goods
• Meat Hook – would snatch up any meat that was left out and had a particular taste for smoked lamb
• Candle Beggar – would steal the highly sought after candles in town

Prior to 1746, the story of Grýla and her sons was used by parents to scare their children into behaving and the actions of the Yule Lads were a bit darker and more bloodthirsty than the version we have today. In 1746, due to the gruesomeness of the story, the Icelandic government prohibited parents from using it to terrify their children into submission so Grýla and her murderous family faded into the annals of history.

So this holiday season, while you’re snuggled in, enjoying the warmth and comfort this time of year can bring, just know that the Krampus isn’t the only monster lurking outside waiting to punish you for your transgressions. Happy Holidays!

The post Grýla, Jólakötturinn, & the Yule Lads appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.

What do you think of when you hear the word Christmas? What’s the first thing you think of? Santa? Jesus? Commercialization?  I know personally that when I think of Christmas my mind plays a bit of tug of war between warm thoughts of snuggling into my favorite spot on the couch with my hot chocolate and favorite blanket, reading in the glow of the Christmas tree lights and the harsh thoughts of pushing my way through the masses in an overly decorated department store to find things that fit my budget to give to my children who will just give all the credit to Santa anyway. So many people, myself included, rush through the holidays and very rarely slow down to think about what we are doing, much less why we are doing it. Tradition has become habit and the reasons for our holiday traditions have become cloudy.

To grasp a solid understanding of how our holiday traditions unfurled, one must first go back to the age before the holidays were considered “holy days”. A time where the mere rising and setting of the sun was a magical feat. In winter, the nights are long and the sun is low. The winter solstice is the longest night of the year and it is a pivot point from which the light of the sun will grow stronger.  Many viewed this time of year as a representation of the death and subsequent re-birth of Sun and Light. The Romans called it Dies Natalis Invicti Solis or the Birthday of the Unconquered Sun. They celebrated this midwinter holiday with the festival of Saturnalia. Riotous, and somewhat promiscuous, merry making took place, for during this time no criminal was prosecuted and one could anything he or she pleased. Houses were decked with boughs of laurel and evergreen trees. Friends visited one another, bringing good-luck gifts and processions of people danced through the streets wearing masks. Sound somewhat familiar?

The continued darkness also prompted people to believe that winter solstice was a time when the spirits were able to travel and roam the earth. This led to the lighting of candles and lanterns to keep the spirits at bay and bells were also used as protection from the evil spirits. While many people believe that ghosts and ghost stories are centered on Halloween, in Victorian times, Halloween was only the beginning of the season of the dead. My thoughts can’t help but be drawn to the 1963 classical song “It’s the Most Wonderful time of the Year”… “There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago….. It was common practice to gather around the fire on Christmas Eve and tell ghost stories. This goes hand in hand with the belief that you must wait till midnight on Christmas Eve and swing open the doors of your home to let out all the unwanted spirits.

Many of the Christmas traditions that we adhere to today took root long ago in the beliefs of Viking, Celtic, and Roman Gods. The Vikings used to burn a giant Sunwheel which, after being set on fire, was rolled down a hill to entice the Sun into returning and according to some, this can be attributed to the origin of the Christmas wreath. The Vikings decorated evergreens to entice the tree spirits to come back in the spring and they even burned the traditional Yulelog after carving runes on it to ask the God’s for protection of misfortune.  The ancient Celtics celebrated the festival of Alban Arthuan which is also known as Yule. They held to the belief that burning the Yule Log to honor the Great Mother Goddess would bring good luck. They frequently decorated pine trees with various stellar objects to represent the souls of those who had died in the previous year.

Anyone with a little curiosity can discover a whole treasure trove of Christmas lore across the ages. From the Krampus to the White Lady, Kris Kringle to Belsnickle the histories are endless. This season while amidst the holiday craziness find a minute to just stop and take it all in. Take a minute to enjoy the wonder and mystery of a holiday that is about so much more than we all know. Take a few minutes to discover for yourself, the true meaning of Christmas.

The post The Story Behind Holiday Traditions appeared first on Association of Paranormal Study.