Norse Christmas celebration

We don’t know exactly when Christmas celebrations started in Norway. But we do know that it was between November and mid-January. The Norse Christmas was called jól or jólablót. The celebrations were also called mid-winterfest.

Jólablót was a celebration the Vikings looked forward to. After hard work, living in cold and windy houses and dark evenings they finally had a feast. Family and neighbours got together and brought food and drinks. 

⬅ Håkon den Gode i juleblótet på Mære (Haakon the Good at the juleblót in Mære), painted by Peter-Nicolai Arbo.

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Håkon den Gode i juleblótet på Mære, malt av Peter-Nicolai Arbo
Håkon den Gode i juleblótet på Mære, malt av Peter-Nicolai Arbo

Freyr’s sacred animals are sacrificed

Jólablót means sacrifice. Sacrifices were made to the gods Odin, Thor and Freyr. When you sacrificed to the gods, animal blood was smeared on statues of the gods. Then the meat was eaten. Before the meal, the food was blessed. It was mostly pigs that were sacrificed.

Illustrasjon av ofring

Not brewing beer for Christmas was a criminal offence

Beer was seen as a sacred drink and was a part of honouring the gods. A Norse poem said: “Out (at sea) he (the king) wanted to drink Christmas.” To drink Christmas means to celebrate Christmas. This was so important that it became obligatory by law to make beer for Christmas. If you broke the law too many times, your farm could be taken away and given to the king. 

By making sacrifices and drinking to the gods, people were hoping for fertile land, good crops and peace. 

Oppbevaring av drikke i tretønner stablet opp på hverandre
Oppbevaring av drikke i tretønner stablet opp på hverandre

Solstice and ancestors

It is believed that the Vikings celebrated the turning of the sun. Vikings called it “Yule” which is like the Norwegian word for Christmas. It was a light festival like those found in many other cultures. 

People were worried about the spirits. They believed that the spirits would come back from the dead in the dark. To scare them off, people lit candles on Christmas Eve. 

Beds were made ready for the dead, and they placed food out. It was said that Christmas was a celebration of the forefathers. But it was dangerous because the dead could bring other spirits with them that could destroy houses and eat all the food. 

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Illustrasjon av solverv 1881
Illustrasjon av solverv 1881

The Roman sun God

Christianity had been known for a long time in the  Roman Empire when a ruler named Aurelian introduced the Sol Invictus cult  as a state religion. This was in the year 274. The ruler became the messenger of god, so if you denied him power, you insulted god.

⬅ In some places this god was named Mitra.

Romerrikets solgud, Mitra
Romerrikets solgud, Mitra

Winter solstice and birthday celebrations

Sol Invictus also ruled over humans and all other gods. Sunday was introduced as a public holiday for Sol.

The birthday of Sol Invictus was celebrated every year on December 25th. It was said that the sun turned this day. It is known as the winter solstice, the day when the days are short with few hours of sunlight. After the winter solstice, the days gradually get more hours of daylight and become longer.

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Illustrasjon av Vintersolverv
Illustrasjon av Vintersolverv

Christianity becomes the state religion

Rulers in the Roman Empire became interested in Christianity in the early fourth century, and in 380, Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire. At this point, other religions were forbidden.

Illustrasjon av Julekrybben
Illustrasjon av Julekrybben

The three wise men

The most important holiday for Christians was Easter, the rebirth of Jesus. It wasn’t the birth of Jesus they celebrated, but the three wise men who gave gifts to the baby. This celebration was on January 6th.

Illustrasjon av De tre vise menn
Illustrasjon av De tre vise menn

When was Jesus born?

The Bible doesn’t say exactly when Jesus was born. But it was agreed that the birth of Jesus should be celebrated.

Some think it was springtime because in the texts, there are stories about shepherds and lambs. Lambs are born in the spring. Some believe September, while others thought it would be most correct to start from the day the archangel Gabriel told Mary that she was pregnant. This was on March 25th, and nine months later would be December 25th.

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Illustrasjon av Den hellige familien i stall
Illustrasjon av Den hellige familien i stall

December 25th becomes the Christian holiday

It was Pope Julius I who in 350 decided that the birthday of Jesus should be celebrated on December 25th. This was the same day that the sun god had been celebrated.

It took several hundred years before the celebration of Christmas came to Norway and the Nordic countries. You can read more about this in the article ‘Christmas comes to Norway’

Bilde av figurer som skal forestille Julekrybben
Bilde av figurer som skal forestille Julekrybben

The origin of Christmas – a cartoon

 

Sources:

  • Historien om Jesus og hans samtid (2020)
    Orage Forlag AS

Media Rights:

    1. Peter-Nicolai Arbo
    2. Getty Images
    3. Getty Images
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    5. Getty Images / Dynamosquito (CC BY-SA 2.0)
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    11. truTV – YouTube