 Artwork depicting the Yule cat | |
| Creature information | |
|---|---|
| Other names |
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| Grouping | Monster |
| Sub grouping | Icelandic Christmas folklore |
| Origin | |
| Country | Iceland |
TheYule cat (Icelandic:Jólakötturinn,IPA:[ˈjouːlaˌkʰœhtʏrɪn], also calledJólaköttur and theChristmas cat[1]) is a huge and viciouscat fromIcelandic Christmas folklore that is said to lurk in the snowy countryside during theChristmas season and eat people who do not receive new clothing beforeChristmas Eve. In other versions of the story, the cat only eats the food of the people who had not received new clothing.Jólakötturinn is closely associated with other figures from Icelandic folklore, considered the pet of the ogressGrýla and her sons, theYule Lads.
The first definitive mention of the Yule cat is from an 1862 collection of folklore byJón Árnason,Íslenzkar þjóðsögur og æfintýri [is]. It was described as an evil beast that would either eat those who did not get new clothes forChristmas, or eat their "Christmas bit" (an extra portion of food given to residents of a farm). Jón gave no source for either story.[2][3]
Two theories have since been proposed for the origin of the story.[3] In one theory, folklorist Árni Björnsson points to a footnote by Jón which uses thefigure of speech "to dress the cat".[4] From this footnote and the lack of any written sources about the Yule cat prior to Jón's writings, Árni concluded that the phrase was the source from which Jón created the monster.[3][5][6] In another theory, archaeologist Guðmundur Ólafsson connects the Yule cat to various entities that, in other European traditions, accompaniedSaint Nicholas. Guðmundur noted that sources for any kind of folklore in history were typically scarce, so the lack of written sources on the Yule cat did not carry much significance.[3][7]
The Yule cat was traditionally used as a threat and incentive for farm workers to finish processing the wool collected in the autumn before Christmas. Those who took part in the work were rewarded with new clothes, but those who did not would get nothing and thus would be prey for the Yule cat.[8]
The establishment of the Yule cat as part of classicIcelandic Christmas folklore came in 1932, whenJóhannes úr Kötlum published his poetry collectionJólin koma [is] (lit.'Christmas is Coming'). One of the poems,Jólakötturinn, centered on the eponymous man-eating monster which subsequently became a common part of Christmas festivities and decorations in Iceland.[3]
While the poem did not associateJólakötturinn withGrýla,Leppalúði, or theYule Lads, the characters were also featured in the collection. This commonality led to connections in later stories. By the middle of the 20th century,Jólakötturinn was considered the pet ofGrýla and her sons. In some later stories,Jólakötturinn is so disobedient that onlyStúfur, the smallest Yule Lad, is able to direct it, and he rides the cat across the countryside.[3][9]
Ingibjörg Þorbergs composed several songs based on Jóhannes's poems, including one based onJólakötturinn, around 1970.[3]
In 2008, the English-language online newspaperThe Reykjavík Grapevine published an article about the Yule cat;[10] this is considered partially responsible for the Yule cat gaining international recognition, and the story of theJólaköttur was repeated and expanded upon in various other articles.[3][11]
In 2018, the city ofReykjavík set up a 5 m (16 ft) tall iron sculpture of the Yule cat as a Christmas decoration in the city's central square.[3][12]
In December 2023, a film about the Yule cat titledÞið kannist við... (lit.You Know..., localized into English asKrampuss) was released in Iceland.[13]
