It is well developed that one of the ways that Christianity was able to convert Pagans and bring them into the Christian fold was to integrate essential Pagan practices into Christian rituals.
As a result, a number of the vacations that exist in the Christian calendar have clear Pagan roots both in terms of the date on which they are marked and the rituals utilized. Simply to name a few, Easter, Halloween, St John’s Eve, and Epiphany all have strong pagan roots.
Christmas is no exception. Initially integrated into a crucial Roman pagan vacation, when Christianity concerned the Viking world, it absorbed a lot of the customs conducted around the exact same season as part of the Jul (or Yule) celebration.
Pagan Christmas
Christmas is celebrated in December to accompany the Pagan Roman vacations of Saturnalia and the festival day of Sol Invictus.
Saturnalia was a feasting period that began on the 17th of December. Individuals would exchange presents, generally statuettes of the gods to put on the family altar. This might be the root of the custom of the nativity scene. The festivities ended on the 25th of December, a few days after the Winter season Solstice, when the days of the year finally start to get longer once again.
December 25th became associated with Jesus Christ due to the fact that it was the festival day of Sol Invictus, who ended up being the most crucial god in the Roman pantheon in the 3rd century, not long before the empire converted to Christianity. The emperor Aurelianus devoted Sol Invictus’ temple in Rome on the 25th of December in 274 ADVERTISEMENT. With the conversion to Christianity, this ended up being the principal feast day of Jesus Christ.
Christmas Comes to Norway
Around 700 years after the dedication of the temple of Sol Invictus, Christianity concerned the Vikings in Norway. According to the Saga of Hákon the Great, it was King Haakon I of Norway who changed the date of the traditional Norse celebration of Yule to accompany the 12-day Christian festival of Christmas.
The Norwegian people were motivated to celebrate the brand-new Christmas festival in place of Yule, however they did not just quit their Pagan customs. These continued and ended up being integrated into new Christain traditions.
Viking Yule Folklore
Viking Yule occurs at the darkest time of year, when the days are short and dark, specifically in northern countries like Norway. The Vikings believed that throughout this dark duration, the veil between the mortal and the supernatural worlds was extremely thin, and they were closer to the divine and the dead.
This was a season to look out for draugr, the Viking undead. It was believed that the deceased might return to life and intimidate their communities if they wished. In addition to eliminating animals and setting fires, they could even go into somebody’s dreams and eliminate them there.
If a neighborhood presumed that they were being scared by a draugr, they would collect the recently deceased and search for proof. If they thought that they had actually discovered one, they would do things like pin down their bodies, cut off their heads, or location a scythe over their neck so that they would behead themselves when they attempted to increase.
But it was not only the dead who were at large during Yule, it was also the gods. In particular, Odin was believed to lead a magnificent Wild Hunt throughout the sky. Odin constantly gathered the souls of the bravest fallen dead to require to Valhalla. The Wild Hunt would collect other things that had actually passed away throughout the year, clearing the method for brand-new development as the days started to get longer.
The Vikings would invest the duration of the Wild Hunt in their temples making sacrifices and in their long halls feasting so that they would not be caught outside and eliminated by the hunt by mishap.
When Odin was abroad, he could likewise pick to check out the worthwhile and deliver presents and excellent fortune.In this way, Odin acted as a kind of proto-Santa Claus. But you can read our complete blog post on Odin as Santa Claus here.
Viking Yule Traditions
A number of the Pagan rituals and folk customs practiced by the Vikings during Yule have actually found their way into Christmas traditions, beginning in Norway and infecting the rest of the Christian world.
Spiritual routines included sacrifices. Animals were taken to the temples, compromised, and drained pipes of their blood. The meat was cooked for the days of feasting that happened over Yule, while the blood was smeared over the idols and walls of the temple. While it may be a bit horrible to imagine, this blood-smearing may be the origin of the idea of decking the halls.
The most traditional Viking Yule food was a roast boar. This is probably associated with the praise of Freyr throughout the festival considering that he and the other Vanir gods were closely related to the animal. Ham is still among the most popular Christmas foods.
Drinking was an important part of the banquet, and lots of toasts were made. The first toast was made to Odin and then to Njord and Freyr, Vanir gods connected with fertility. Toasts were likewise made to the dead forefathers.
Thor, the god of thunder, was both a fertility and a protector god. He was likewise honored at Yule. Goats were frequently amongst the animals compromised, and goat figurines made from dried wheat were made and shown as decorations. Viking Yule decorations might have been put on a yule tree, an evergreen tree brought into the house probably to represent Yggdrasil, the world tree that sits at the center of the Norse universe. It is a sign of life and may have represented the truth that life continued throughout the dark days of Yule.
The Vikings likewise selected a big oak log to burn in the fire throughout Yule. It was engraved with unique Norse runes that invoked the gods’ security against the darker supernatural forces for the period of Yule. The fire needed to be kept lit throughout the whole celebration. Letting the fire head out was an extremely bad omen.
As part of joyful activities, the neighborhood would make a big wreath of dry natural material. Instead of hang this on a door, they would set this alight and roll it down a hill. This may have been a ritual to beckon the return of the sun.
Mistletoe was hung, and mistletoe was an essential plant in Norse mythology. This is the only thing in existence that can kill the god of light Balder. Loki learns this trick and, in reality, utilizes the plant to kill the god and send him to the underworld. The connection between the story and hanging mistletoe at Yule is unclear, but it may have represented honoring guarantees made to the gods.
Children would leave their shoes by the fire at night and put out sugar and hay for Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of Odin. These may have been placed to receive presents if Odin decided to pass while on the wild hunt. There are some stories of member of the family dressing up as old male winter and bringing gifts. Similar To Daddy Christmas, in the oldest customs, they were undoubtedly suggested to be Odin.
Heathen Christmas
It is not difficult to see many parallels in between traditional Norse Yule customs and modern Christmas traditions. This is not surprising considering that we know that Christianity obtained from lots of Pagan and folk traditions to better adjust itself to new Christian converts.
What stands out is just how much impact Viking Yule appears to have actually had upon Christmas today, when Christianity obtained from a lot of Pagan traditions. This suggests that Yule was an exceptionally essential holiday in the Norse world for their traditions to have overwhelmed others.