Viking Yule

Parents,

As part of our unit on Vikings, we learn about their religion (they had many gods and goddesses), myths, and traditions.  Below you will find some historical information about Yule. In-class, our learning will focus on the historical context of these traditions (though not in nearly as much detail as I've given below- this info is for parents' understanding). We will end our unit with a Yule Feast, which is really a celebration of our learning, which happens to take place on the last day of school before winter break- Thursday, December 19th at 2:00pm. Invitations to the Feast will come home this Thursday after we've discovered "what is Yule?"  

Viking Yule

Yule, or Jól (pronounciation: “yoh-l”) was the name of the time between the Winter Solstice and the Jólablót – “Yule Sacrifice” – which originally may have happened on the 12th of January. It means that Yule begins with the Winter Solstice and lasts until the 12th of next year!

As a part of the Yule celebration  there would also be feasting, banquets, games and song – and sacrifices or gifts given  to the gods and other powers of winter. 

     It would appear that the actual Yule banquets would last for three days and nights, and probably closer to the day of the Sacrifice on the 12th of January than to the Solstice – as such the sacrifice and the banquet may have been a way of celebrating and giving thanks after three weeks of expectation, beginning with the Solstice and the gradual brightening of days.

WINTER SOLSTICE – THE REBIRTH OF THE SUN GODDESS.

Since Yule begins with Solstice, it is natural to assume that the Sun was an important feature of this ancient celebration.   The day of the Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year, and in Norway, as in other countries to the far north, it is particularly short, lasting for a few hours at best. In the Northern parts of Norway, the day of Winter Solstice is hardly a day at all, but rather a short moment of dark bluish light at midday before Night once more settles, and the Sun is not seen. To the ancients, it must have appeared as if the wolf of darkness was catching up on her, or that she had in fact succumbed, shining only a bleak light from the realm of Hel – or from the wolf´s belly.

The Solstice may well have represented the return of the life-giving Sun goddess or even the rebirth  of her new self, her “daughter”, so essential for the return of life, light and nourishment. Yule began at Solstice and was a time of darkness when, day by day, the days grew longer, showing that the Sun was being reborn, and victorious. Perhaps Yule was, originally, that time of the year where time stood still, and where the goddess of the new time cycle (the new year) was still in her infancy, a fragile time that had to be supported ritually by all those who were in dire need of her success?

From the Viking Age, we know that the Sun (known in Old Norse as Sól, in Germanic as Sunna (hence “Sun”) was considered a goddess who dwelled among the Aesir and who rode or drove a chariot across the sky on an eternal flight from the devouring “wolf” of darkness. Eventually, she is doomed, doomed to be swallowed by the wolf. In the Völuspa, this would appear to be the time of Ragnarok, but it is also an annual event – because every year, the Sun of the North is in fact swallowed by darkness.

In Norse mythology, the wolf is a creature of Hel and the Underworld, representing death as well as related issues such as desire, life-force, survival instincts, hunger and greed. It is not an evil creature but a formidable one and often an opponent, unless you learn to steer it like  the god Odin was able to. In the case of the Sun, we may safely assume that the wolf who eats her represents death, and death is in Norse myths not a fixed state but a transition phase associated with dark and coldness – and winter.

It is  often thought that the Sun goddess lost importance in the religion of the Vikings compared to earlier times, yet a lot of her essential characteristics survived in many goddesses; such as in Freyia´s golden eyes and her necklace of flames, made by the four directions. We may also see a memory of the Sun goddess in Síf´s main attribute, her hair of gold, and we may see the Sun in Frey´s wife Gerd´s bright arms, arms so bright that they illuminate the lands and the oceans. And not the least in the way the valkyriur are described as bright, shining, southern, golden red, emanating rays, shine, lightening, and the way their heat rays create the honey-dew that falls into the valleys and how they, quite like Gerd, “illuminate the air and the ocean” as they ride.

Thus  the Winter Solstice is about the return of the light of the Sun, and that the Sun was actually a very important and ancient goddess among the pagan Scandinavians, a splendid goddess of elfin shine who rebirths herself from the darkness of the wolf´s belly.

THOR  AND THE YULE-GOAT

When faced with the unpredictable powers of darkness and the Underworld, people in heathen times would need assistance. No matter how hard they tried to placate the kindred of Night and Death, they could often only hope for divine protection, and in that regard, the god Thor was the great protector, the one god whose main mission was to protect his mother Earth and the Middle World from the powers of darkness and destruction, and the only one who had the strength and the courage to stand up to the wolf-riding lady of Death.

Thor is also the great protector of the “Maiden”, that divine and life-providing damsel, annually in distress, whose light and love belongs to the gods, and to whom they looked for their annual rejuvenation. Perhaps it was to him that gods and people looked for help and protection when the time of the great battle for her resurrection to her place among the gods had arrived.

We know that Thor was important during Yule celebration, and the reason may be the above, his role as protector against exactly the kinds of forces that roamed free on Earth during that fragile time between the rebirth of the Sun and her actual resurrection to former glory at the 12th of January. He may have represented the hero of the day, the one whose protection and direct action not only protected the people against the onslaughts of the destructive powers, but who also saved the solar ”damsel in distress” in some way or other: It is at least very likely that Thor, as a god of Yule, ensured the safe growth, the protection of and, eventually, the glorious return of the new Sun.

We do not know exactly how Thor was worshipped during Yule in Viking times, but it is thought that some of these Thor-rituals may have survived in the Scandinavian tradition called “Julebukk” – the “Yule-Goat”.

The goat, a symbol of Thor, was an established symbol of Yule, and the animal was slaughtered as a sacrifice during Yule, perhaps referring to the myth of how Thor could slaughter his precious goats and revive them the day after with a blow from his hammer; a symbol of resurrection, and particularly the resurrection of that which gives nourishment.

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

Another Viking tradition was the Yulelog, 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. A piece of the log was saved to protect the home during the coming year and light next year's fire. Today, most know the Yulelog as a cake or cheese log rolled in nuts.

Even the Christmas tree 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 surround the Mistletoe. The Vikings believed it could resurrect the dead, a belief based on a legend about the resurrection of Balder, God of Light and Goodness, who was killed by a mistletoe arrow but resurrected when 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 the Thundergod 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 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 representOld Man Winter, who was welcomed into homes to join the festivities. Dressed in a hooded fur coat, 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.

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.

Mrs. Gausman