The Legend of #Iceland's Yule #Cat

The Yule Cat

The Yule Cat is yet another Icelandic Christmas fiend. Some say it is the house cat of Grýla and Leppalúði and that it lives with them in their cave, although this seems to be a rather recent development. The origins of the Yule Cat are shrouded in mystery, though it bears some resemblance to mythical animal beings that appear during Advent in Iceland's neighbouring countries. Of those, it probably bears the greatest resemblance to the Nordic Christmas Buck. Both keep a close eye on people during the Advent and prey on anyone who does not receive a new item of clothing for Christmas.

In Scandinavia people have been known to dress up like the Christmas Buck in games, and some people wonder whether something similar has taken place in Iceland – that is, people dressing in Yule Cat costumes. There is no documentation to indicate this, but since the state of not receiving new clothes for Christmas has sometimes been referred to as “dressing the (Yule) Cat,” it is possible that, at some point, this was taken quite literally. The Icelanders also refer to it as að fara í Jólaköttinn, literally “to end up in the Yule Cat”, the common interpretation being that the Yule Cat will eat those who do not receive any new clothing at Christmas. Yet some people favour a slightly more benign interpretation: that the Yule Cat will eat the food of anyone who does not receive a new item of clothing for Christmas.

Even to this day, many people consider receiving new clothing for Christmas to be of extreme importance. It is common for people to dress in new clothing from head to toe on Christmas Eve. Some sources suggest that female farm workers in the old days worked extremely hard to produce one item of clothing after another during Advent, all in an effort to save the farm folk from the claws of the Yule Cat. It is likely that the Yule Cat myth was originally designed to urge farm workers to perform well prior to Christmas and to finish their tasks. As a reward they would receive a new item of clothing from their masters. Those who did not complete their tasks, however, received no gift from their master, thus “ending up in the Yule Cat”. In other words, the Yule Cat helped combat laziness and inertia.

Naturally it was highly unjust that those who, due to poverty or other adverse circumstances, did not receive any new clothing risked being eaten by a horrible Yule Cat. On the other hand, people who had more to give than others were urged to assist those less fortunate so that everyone could enjoy a Christmas free of monsters and fiends. Today, of course, Christmas is that time of year when the more fortunate among us are most likely to give freely to those who have less.

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