In ancient times, long before Christianity came to Scandinavia, "Jul" or "Yule" marked the peak of the winter solstice. It became a mid-winter celebration of the transition from the longest dark winter night to spring, December is the darkest month of the year in Scandinavian countries and marks the time when " the sun turns" and days began to lengthen. Christmas spirit lights up the dark nights with cheer and warmth. Norway, located in the north of Europe, has the longest and darkest winters in Europe. It’s also thought to be the least church-going country in Europe. Jul was celebrated as a drinking season earlier in the year, but Norway’s King Haakon I moved the heathen custom to December 25th to celebrate the birth of Jesus. -------------- Early Yuletide, meaning "the turn of the sun" or the winter solstice ,welcomed the light of the ceremonial candles and the abundance of fresh meat in this time of the year to slaughter the animals--which made more sense in that subsistence economy then feeding them through the winter. It was also a time of warmth as the men harvested the Yule Log. This ceremonial log was originally an entire tree that was brought into the house with great ceremony. The butt end was placed into the hearth while the remainder of the tree stuck out into the room.. The tree would be slowly fed into the fire and timed to last the entire Yule season. --------------------- The Christmas tree would be decorated by the adults, the children would not be allowed to see it until the appropriate time. However, the children had a task of preparing a bowl of porridge to be given to the little gnome who lived in the attic or in the barn. If ignored, this little elf would be capable of great mischief during this Yule season and the upcoming spring season.
The traditional Scandinavian cuisine for the Christmas Eve meal might be a variety of cold and warm delicacies like fish, sausages, ham, salad and desserts. Herring and lutefisk are traditional fish dishes. Glogg and schnapps would be the beverages of choice as everyone enjoys the evening, anxiously awaiting the "Julenisse", a Scandinavian version of Santa Claus. This welcome visitor has no reindeer, perhaps a sleigh pulled by a goat. He also carries a load of simple gifts in a bag on his back for all good Scandinavian boys and girls.
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Christmas Day will be marked with a journey to church to light candles and lay wreaths on family graves. The tradition of layng a spruce wreath and lighted candles or lanterns began in the 1900s, following World War II. Danish Christmas trees were decorated by Danish flags after the war. During the Nazi occupation, Danes were forbidden to display their flag and after the war, they used it as a Christmas decoration. This later spread to the rest of Scandinavia. ----------------- While it appears that we might not have a white Christmas here, areas of Scandinavia should find the ground snow-covered in the countryside with a moonlit night to help guide the Julenissen on his journey.
Jeg er så glad hver juleveld!
GOD JUL!
Just curious....will you be serving Grogg at your house?
ReplyDeleteScandinavian dynamite in a bottle. It's ready!
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking I have to get up every 20 minutes to move the logs in the fire or the whole thing goes out. How do you keep a tree burning for days? No wonder it was a drinking season. Interesting history lesson, though!
ReplyDelete