I always keep a special place in my heart for DA user chricko. Because through their art they made me discover and learn a LOT about the various legends, monsters and folktales surrounding the Yule Season of Northern Europe - entities of Christmas, New Years, Saint Lucia and more...
Based on an old Nordic Christmas tradition.
Christmas presents where a little bit different in the old days from how they are today.
The Swedish word for Christmas present is Julklapp.
The word Jul comes from Yule ( the pagan winter festival ).
Klapp can mean everything from clap, tap, knock, pat and slap.
The word comes from the farmers and was more of a prank than a gift.
Theres several versions of this prank but commonly worked like this…
You write a riming note to whoever you want to joke with and you tie it to a piece of firewood or a straw figure that takes the shape of a little man or a goat.
The rhyme can often be very mean, rude, crass and vulgar.
You then alone or with your friends go to the one who is gonna get this gift and knock on the door or window and quickly throw it in.
Then you run as fast as you can because if the pranked one figures out who the guilty one is then you have lost.
In some versions the pranked one has to get rid of the joke gift the same way as they received it.
Another version of this tradition is that you knock on someones door and as quick as they open it you give them a funny slap in the face and then run away.
Often the prankers putted on a costume so it will be more difficult to recognize them.
Comonly they dress as a JULBOCK/YULE-GOAT chricko.deviantart.com/art/JUL…
In the early 19th century a different kind of Julklapp started to become popular in Scandinavia.
This one was an actual present in a package that was given to people from sacks carried by a dressed up person.
But it was not SANTA who gave the presents but the YULE-GOAT.
But this new Christmas tradition was mostly common among high class families who could afford to by presents.
Every since the beginning of the 20th century the Julklapp has gone through big changes and manny has forgotten about it's origins.
But you can still find traces of it.
Christmas present is still called Julklapp in Swedish but it's no longer a prank gift.
To write rhymes on presents is still a tradition in Sweden but they are way friendlier than how they used to be.
The presents are still given by a dressed up person who knocks on the door but the Jule-Goat has been replaced by the modern commercial SANTA CLAUS.
Straw figures recembeling goats is still one of the most common Christmas decorations in Scandinavia but they are no longer thrown in through doors or windows but usually just stands under the tree as a decoration.
Well thats a bit of Scandinavian Christmas tradition history before the end of this year, hope you liked it.
Merry Christmas…or should I say YULE.
Based on Nordic folklore.
According to legend its said that trolls also have celebrations during Christmastime.
They celebrate Yule en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule
And they do it in a very special way.
They do it by lifting up a hill, boulder or sometimes an entire mountain on golden pillars and have a feast under it. There are a lot of stories about this in Scandinavia and the most famous one in Sweden is the one of the huge boulder Maglestenen=The Mangle Stone aka Trollastenen=The Troll Stone that you can find in eastern Scania.Its said that the boulder was thrown there by a big troll who wanted to crush the church of Åhus, trolls hates the sound of church bells. But he didn't aim very well so he missed and the boulder landed outside of Bäckaskog here it still stands today. Short after it landed there the little trolls made it their home and lifted it up every Yule. To join a troll feast and to taste their food and drink is said to be very dangerous because then they can have power one you.
A story about this that was written down 1667 goes like this...
Noble miss Sissela Uhlstand on the castle Trolle-Ljungby one Christmas Eve heard an unusual sound from the Magle Stone that laid not that far away. The stone was strangely enough lifted on pillars, and a large amounts of lights shined from there. She asked that someone of her stable boys should ride there and check what it was all about. For that she promised to give the brave one her best horse. One stable boy said that he wanted to try. When the stable boy came to the stone he saw a huge bunch of little people that danced around and had a great time. Suddenly one of them stood by his side with a horn and a flute. The stable boy was told to drink from the horn and then blow the flute. But a woman warned him with a whisper: he should absolutely not taste the drink. Probably she was a prisoner to the little people, because he noticed that she wanted to help him. The stable boy pored the drink behind his back. A drop landed on the horse that burned of a bit of the skin and it galloped away with the wildest speed. The man had both the flute and the horn with him and the trolls ran after him. it looked hopeless but then he heard the woman call to him: he should not ride on the road but on the field. And immediately the trolls had to take the other way. they couldn't run on the field because it had been ploughed with an iron plough. Iron and steel is said to make the supernatural loose its power. The stable boy made it over the drawbridge in the last moment and the lady of the castle immediately ordered it to be closed. On the other side of the moat stood the little people and asked to get their treasured back. They promised prosperity to both Sissela and her family if they just gave it back. But she rejected them and asked them to go to Hell. Then they instead started to threatened her with bad luck and misfortune. They disappeared but the threats came true. The stable boy died short afterwards and for Sissela the punishment came afterwards and lasted for a very long time.
The moral of this story is to stay away from trolls and that stealing from them is a pretty bad idea.
The Magle Stone still stands where it has been standing since the troll through it there but there doesn't seem to have been any party's there for a while.
Mabey the trolls found another place to celebrate Yule
Here is a photo of it static.panoramio.com/photos/la…
The castle of Trolle-Ljungby also still exists. 3.bp.blogspot.com/_ybSQeWxYLE0…
And believe or not the trolls horn and pipe can be seen in the castle but don't touch them.
Its said that everyone that do it will be affected by the troll curse upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia…
Thought this would be an suitable soundtrack to this painting www.youtube.com/watch?v=r__Dk4…
Merry Yule!
AKA Lussi or Lussikärringen=The Lussihag
Based on Nordic folklore
The night between the 12th and 13th December was called Lussinatta=Lussi Night.
It was said to be the longest and darkest night of the year.
A strange and dangerous night when animals could talk and have weddings and the forces of darkness where active.
It was best to stay indoors on this night and no work was allowed because it could attract the creatures that where reaping havoc outside.
Among these creatures was Lucia one of the most feared.
Lucia is a hideous demonic witch/troll that flies through the sky in the shape of a bird of prey (sometimes a goat) during Lussinatta followed by her little helpers called The Lussiferda.
She came down the chimney and shook of the lice that she was carrying so everyone in the house would be infected.
She also kidnaped misbehaving children that she later ate.
Little helpers and chimneys, sound familiar?
And it was also important that most of the preparations for Yule should be finished. If not then Lucia would punish the entire household for their laziness.
It was common that people stayed awake through Lussi Night to guard oneself and the household from the evil forces. This tradition is called Lussevaka which is still practiced by some people today.
In some places they instead speak of a male creature called Lussegubben (The Lusse Oldman)
In the late 17th century a VERY different Lucia tradition began to take form among noble, high class families.
This Lucia is less related to trolls and more to the Sicilian saint Lucy en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lu…
People are not sure but its said that the tradition is influenced by the german Christkindlein upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia…
The way it's done is that a woman/girl that is dressed in white and wears a crown with burning candles sings christmas songs together whit other dressed up people.
You can read more about it here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lu…
This new Lucia became more and more popular through the years and the old Lussihag more and more forgotten.
But who knows, maybe she's still out there and looking for misbehaviours.
So be good if yo don't want to be her Yuledinner.
Happy Lussinatta!
Based on nordic folklore.
In Sweden he's called Julbock
In Norway Julebukk
In Denmark Julebuk
And in Finland Joulupukki
Before Santa Claus came to Scandinavia in the 20th century a way older character appeared at Christmas time.
He was NOT jolly but stood in a very deep connection with the dark and dangerous forces that ruled over the midwinter night and was said to be close friend to Lusse-Per(Lucifer).
It was good to stay indoors because Christmas where in the old days considered to be a time where frightening creatures where very active,ghosts,werewolf's,trolls and one of the most feared was Julbocken(The Yule goat).
He is a shadow creature that dwells in the woods and the closer it comes to Christmas the closer he comes to the to the humans.
And on Christmas night he is inside of the house invisible to the human eye.
It was important to be on your best behavior because if you where naughty a worse punishment awaited you than a piece of coal and it didn't matter if you where young or old to be his next victim.
There are ways to protect yourself from him though.
To hang up steel objects by the doors and windows can deep him out because steel is said to scare off evil spirits.
But Julbocken dosent only symbolize danger and the forces of evil butt also fertility and rebirth.
So it was common that the farmers sacrificed some of the Christmas food to him to insure that next years harvest would be successful and to some this was very important because if you didn't he could eat everything in the house.
The last straws from the harvest was weaved to the shape of a goat.
The goat is one of the oldest Christmas symbols in northern Europe and Scandinavia that can be traced to pre Christian time.
To the vikings the goat was a holy animal.
Thor the god of thunder who rides the skies in a chariot driven by the two goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngjostr was important to the harvest because he brought rain to the world.
During midwinter rituals a goat was sacrificed in honor to the gods.
In the old days it was a popular tradition to dress up as the goat and scare people.
Sometimes they simply just jumped out of an corner an went BOO!
But it was also common that groups dressed on creepy costumes walked from door to door to scare,dance and to sing to the ones who lived there.
For this they got food,drink and sometimes money that they later gave to the poor.
This tradition was called JULEBUKKING.
Another popular tradition was to place a straw goat in a neibhours house without being noticed.
The pranked family later had to get rid of the goat the same way.
The Christian church was against this type of pagan tradition,to make straw goats and to dress up as the goat was according to them the same as to accepting your sole to SATAN.
In Iceland it became forbidden to make straw goats and in Denmark it was death by decapitation to the ones who dressed as the goat.
In the 19th century a different an way friendlier goat appeared at Yule time.
This one carried sacks filled with presents to the good children and became a predecessor to the later JULTOMTEN(SANTA CLAUS).
But that was to the high class families while the farmers still saw him as a form of boogeyman.
In the 20th century Santa Claus became more and more popular in Scandinavia and the goat more and more forgotten.
There are still some people dressing as JULBOCKEN at Yule time and straw goats are still one of the most common christmas decorations in the nordic countries but it's not like it used to be,a lot of the old Christmas traditions has been replaced with the new commercial ones.
But if you ask me the old immortal goat is still out there in the woods and visits us every Yule to check that everything is in order.
Stories about demons and monsters that appears at Christmas and New Year to punish the misbehaviors can be found all around the world.
In Austria,Bavaria,Tyrol,Hungary,Slovenia and Croatia there is the Krampus,
In the southern central alps the Badalics appears with a witch at Christmas time,
In Iceland the old troll woman Gryla eats all the naughty children,
In Japan the ogre Namahage etc.
So MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all and remember to be good...
OR ELSE!
Based on Nordic folklore.
Also known as Galopson,Gluppson,Gravson or Gluffsuggan
If you want to know how the next year will be then you can go ÅRSGÅNG=YEARWALK.
You do this by walking to seven churches on New Years night,
go around them and blow in their keyholes.
When you come to the seventh church you should look in the keyhole and then you will see what will happen the next year.
But this can be very dangerous because you might meet Gloson.
She is a horrifying fire breathing creature that looks like a large pig or wild boar that lives in cemeteries and in stone cairns.
She has big,glowing and staring eyes and her back is razor-sharp that burns like fire and she sharpens it on the tombstones.
In some stories she has only one eye that she can kill with just by looking at you.
If you meet her then you should sacrifice the last three apples from the harvest.
It's also good to cross your legs otherwise she can run between them and split you in two.
Its said that she shows herself on places where little children recently have died and also on crossroads on midnight.
Sometimes a strange little old man with a red cap has been seen riding on her back(don't ask me how he does it).
In Glosebo in Sweden there are stories about people that sacrificed to her so she wouldn't terrorize them.
Gloson has a relative named Mörksuggan=The dark sow that lives on darkness and little children.
So HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all and watch out for Gloson.
Based on Nordic folklore.
In Sweden he's called Tomte.
In Norway and Denmark Nisse.
In Iceland Bualfur.
And in Finland Tonttu or Haltija.
He can also be called...Tomtkall,Tomtevetting,Tomtepese,Dratomte,Draspik,Goenisse,Gardvord,Gardbo,Gardbonde,Gårdbo,Gårdbonde,Gårdbuk,Husbuk,Gordbräng,Pyske and Den lille grå=The little grey one.
Tomten is a creature who lives in farms,usually in the stable.
He watches over everything that happens and helps the farmer with his doings.
Mostly it takes care of the animals but docent mind logging and harvest work either.
Mostly Tomten is invisible to the human eye or in an other form like a calf,cat,mouse or a big log.
You can hear him though,walking around,working and making noises in the night.
The few times you see him is mostly just a quick glimpse in a dark corner.
The look of Tomten variates but mostly he looks like an old man but female tomtar has also been seen.
He's very short,one meter as tallest but there are stories of very big ones but those are rare.
The clothes are mostly grey but can also be red,green or blue and on the head he usually wears a red or grey cap or sometimes a hat.
The beard is long and grey or white but at some times he's clean shaved.
Often but far from always Tomten only has one eye in the middle of his forehead that glows in the dark and even headless tomtar has been seen.
Even though he is very little Tomten has incredible powers,both magical and physical and has an extremely nasty temper.
If you in any way anger him you could be cursed or beaten senseless.
Animal abuse,lazyness,sloppiness,swearing and drinking in the middle of the day is some of the things that can awaken his wrath.
As a pagan creature he also dislikes when people talks about God and Jesus in his presence,stuff like that could make him leave and take all the good luck with him so only bad things would happened and the farmers would end up poor and miserable.
Tomten is also famous for being a joker and trickster that loves to play little pranks on the humans.
For Tomtens hard work and for preventing bad things from happening the people sacrifices food to him,mostly porridge and especially on Christmas.
Tomten is a solitary creature even though tomte families has been sighted.
But mostly the only company he likes is the one of animals,especially horses.
Hedgehogs are also close friends to Tomten and to kill a hedgehog is said to bring bad luck.
To se a tomte sweeping is said to be an omen that somebody soon will die.
Farms is not the only places you can find tomtar.
They can live in...
Mills(Kvarngubbe/Kvarntomte)
Mines.
Wells (Brunsgubbe).
Smithies.
Ships(Kabbelgatt-nisse).
Old warehouses.
In the basement of ordinary houses(Källarglutten)
And even in castles and under bridges.
In the late nineteenth century a new and VERY different tomte appeared.
The swedish artist Jenny Nyström made christmas cards with tomtar,but these tomtar where not dark grumpy pagans but jolly and friendly that carried sacks filled with presents.
This new modern tomte was now called Jultomten=The yule tomte.
And as time passed he became taller and fatter until he became identical with the commercial American COCA COLA Santa Clause and a lot of the people today has forgotten about Tomtens true
origins.:/
So this is the story of the nordic Tomten.
Once a pagan spirit that protected the farm.
Now a fat guy that says HOHOHO!
If you ask me then I prefer the old-fashioned and far more interesting one.
Related house spirits to Tomten can be found all around the world.
Like the Slavic Domovoi,the scottish Brownie and Killmoulis, Welsh Bwca,Fenoderee of Isle of man,German Heinzelmännchen,turkisk Ev iyesi etc
Finally Fleshed-Out My Designs on The Yule Giants Themselves for My Rudolph Project, Wanted to Make Them More "Monster Goblin/Troll-Like" in Terms of Designing Inspired by The Giants in Cosgrove Hall's Adaptation of Roald Dahl's "The BFG".
My Take on Rudolph is Followed Up by Yule Folklore as Yule Giants are Minor Antagonists That Try to Gobble Up The Red-Nosed Reindeer and His Friends.
