From Jól to Yule – Scandinavian Archaeology (2025)

From its misty pagan origins, through its Christian rebranding, up to its metamorphosis into a time of merriment for allwho wish to participate,Yulehas meant many things to many people.Yule, today, is for many people just a synonym for Christmas, but this is to oversimplifyit.Yulespecificallyhas its roots inamidwinter festival observed bycertainpre-Christian Germanic societies. Each had a slightly different name for the event:geolin Old English,jiuleisin Gothic,andjólin Old Norse. In Icelandicand Faroeseit is still calledjól, while in modern Danish, Norwegian, and Swedishit is now calledjul—”Yule” is simply the anglicized spelling of the name.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe,Yulewas one of the winter festivals thatwas absorbed and rebranded by the new religion. Some of its customs were ended, while others were retained but perhaps in an altered form.Of all the various Yule festivals, theNorsejólpersistedin its pagan form thelatest, as the Nordicnationswere the last Germanic societies in Europe to be Christianized.The Christianization ofjólwas in some ways forceful, in others diplomatic, and it has continued to evolve organically ever since.

But the“elder” form ofjólhas received increased interest over the past century, not just from an academic standpoint but from a spiritual one.Followersofso-called“neopagan” religionslike Wicca and Asatruhave soughtto revive the old, heathenjólin their own observances. However, this is a difficult endeavour, as the holiday lays bare one of the most yawning gaps in our knowledge of the pre-ChristianNorse.

The fact is, we know terribly little about Norse paganism in actual practice. It is also unwise to generalize much, because it is very likely that it varied greatly through time and space. The whole Norse world might have acknowledged the same essential pantheon of gods, and probably marked the same major annual ceremonies. However, specific rituals may have differed among different regions of the Norse world, and different gods may not have been of uniform importance everywhere. And so even if a widespread pagan festivallikejólhad an “original” form, it is possible that it looked quite different when observed in different areas.

Sowhat does this leave us to work with? References tojólin Old Norse literature are sparse, but a natural place to start. The first question we should ask ourselves iswhen?

When?

We can start with the Saga of Hákon the Good (king of Norway, 934-961 AD), from the Icelandic compendiumHeimskringla, written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13^thc. AD. According tothis saga, the paganjólwas a three-day event commencing at midwinter. This gives us a place to start looking, but with caution: the calendars used by the Old Norse were not the same as the one we are familiar with (nor, for that matter, was the Christian calendar of the day—more on that later).

We can piece together that the calendar used by the pre-Christian Norse was probably similar to other pre-Christian Germanic calendars, coordinating both the solar year (one solar orbit, roughly 365 days) and the shorter lunar year (twelve lunar cycles, 354 days). But the calendar used by Snorri,which had been used inIcelandsinceat leastthe 10^thcentury, was different.While it still had twelve months, these lasted thirty days each regardless of lunar cycle, with extra days added mid-summer to fill in the day count of the solar cycle.The most basic division of the year was into two halves: “winter”, or the time of “short days”, from mid-October to mid-April; and “summer”, the time of “nightlessdays”, vice versa. By the reckoning of this calendar, midwinter—and therefore, according to Snorri,jól—would occur roughly in the middle of theJulianmonth of January.

Of course, as with most saga literature, the danger of relying too heavily on this accountisthatHeimskringlawas composed around 1230 AD—nearly 300 years after Hákon’s death. There is always a certain doubt aroundtheaccuracy ofSnorri Sturluson’s information about the pagan era,given the large time gap from when the events or traditions took place to when they were actually written down. Fortunately, in this case, we are helped by the testimony of a German missionary,Thietmar of Merseburg.He recorded that, in Denmark at least,jóldid indeed take place in January. This account is earlier, dating to about 1000 AD—after Denmark’s“official”Christianization by Harald Bluetoothin the 960s,butmuch closer to the actual pagan erathan theIcelandicsagas.In all likelihood, many Danes were still actively pagan at this point, despite being nominally Christian. Folk memory of the pagan festival was probably much livelier, and the rituals observed less alteredbyChristianity(even if king Harald hadprobablyto an extent Christianized the event). The twist in Thietmar’s account was that, according to him,jóltook place only once every nine years, but both accounts do agree on the time of year, at least.

This aside, variousartefacts likerunestavespoint to a series of three days called “midvinternatterna”(Midwinter nights) occurring from roughly 12-14 January in the Christian calendar of the day, the Julian calendar.When converted into the Gregorian calendar, that used by most of the Western world today, this places the Midwinter nights from 19-21 January.

How, then, didjólbecome the late-December event we now know? At least in the case of Norway, we have an inkling of the story. The Saga of Hákon the Good, again, states that Hákon—a devout Christian, raised in England—had designs on converting the whole of Norway. But he understood, probably quite wisely, that to simply ban all pagan conventions outright was to invite rebellion from those who were only converting against their will—probably quite a large demographic. So,withjól, he began in a relatively gentle way, by simply changing the date of the event to coincide with Christmas, so that all Norwegians regardless of faith would celebrate their great winter festival on the same day.

This explains the change of date in Norway and, due to their close association, probably also the Faroe Islands and Iceland. Denmark’s adoption of the new date might have something to do with Harald Bluetooth, the first Christian king of Denmark (958-986 AD), who in 970ADalso became king of Norway. If the change of date had stuck in Norway, then Harald may have adopted the move in his own homeland for similar reasons.As for Sweden, this might have occurred under OlofSkötkonung, who became the first Christian king of Sweden in 995AD—several decades after the Christianization of Norway and Denmark. Olof may have altered the date in imitation of his Christian contemporaries.

How?

So, now we haveresearched the timing of the event. Naturally, the next questionbecomes:how exactly did the event unfold, and how might that have changed whenjólwas eventually subsumed by Christianity? One answer to the second question is probably, “gradually”. Again, Hákon appears to have been savvy enough not to try and change the world overnight,andhis adjustments tojólcelebrationsandreligious life in generalprobably proceededpiecemealas his position strengthened. Indeed, some later chroniclers referred to him unflatteringly as Hákon the Apostate, for this policy of pagan tolerance and assimilation of pagan practices, but it was likely a strategy that made him much more successful.

Let us begin with one fact that may make us a little squeamish in the modern world:jólwas very likely a very bloody event. Hákon’s saga refers to the ritual sacrifice of a multitude of farm animals, whose blood was then spattered upon idols of the gods as well as on the attendees of the festival. This type of blood sacrifice to the gods was known asblót, and itwas not limited tojólcelebrations(multipleblótevents are recorded throughout the Norse year), though the scale here may have been unusual.We do not know when this particulardimension of the festival was ended, but it is difficult to imagine it lasting long into the Christian era. At least, not in such a ritualized fashion. The livestock were not butchered only for the purpose of blood sacrifice, but also because their meat would then become the main event of the feast. This was an occasion in which not only “common” meats like mutton were served, but also more prestigious meats such as beef, horse, and pork along with the spoils of hunting and fishing. Of particular importance was the sonargöltr—a great boar who would be sacrificed to become the main course of the feast, but only after those in attendance had set their hands upon his fur and made their vows and oaths to the king (perhaps also devotions to the god Freyr, to whom the boar is sacred). This might be the reason that ham remains the meat of choice for the main course at Scandinavian Yule. As we all know, feasting has never ceased to be a Yule/Christmas tradition—and if you have ever attended a traditional Scandinavianjulbordyou know that astounding quantities of meat are still involved, with the general exception of horse (taboo in Christian law,thoughapparentlynot for IKEA). So, while Hákon and his like may have done away with the bloody anointments, there remained plenty of carnivory at Christianjól.

As an additional bit of confusion, saga sources make references to bothjólablót(Yule sacrifice) andmidvinterblót(Midwinter sacrifice). This has naturally caused a great deal of scholarly confusion, as the relationship between these events remains unknown. Some consider them to be different names for the samefestival.Or, perhapsjólwas the name of the festival as a whole andmidvinterblótspecifically referred to its sacrificial event.Alternatively, it is possible that they were entirely differentoccasions that unfolded simultaneously or inquicksuccession.There remains no consensus on this topic as of yet.

The biggest change, of course, was the religionand godsvenerated by the celebration.Paganjólwasnotahousehold celebration, but centred around a temple (hof) or outdoor altar (hög). Of the Norse pantheon, Odin of the Æsir (godof kings,who is himself referred to asJólnirin some poetry), and Njord and Freyr of the Vanir (father and son,bothassociatedwithgood weather andfertility) are singled out in Hákon’s saga as subjects ofjólworship. This combination of gods seems to indicate that this was an occasion for the veneration of both kingly power and, common to winter festivals,prosperityof the land.Another source, theSaga of the Earls of Orkney,tellsthat midwinterin northernmost Swedenwas a time of veneration to Thorof the Æsir—agodalsoassociated with weatherand agriculture, hence useful to appease going into the sowing season.Ancestor worship may also have taken place. Eventually, these aspects were replaced by a sole focus on Jesus Christ, whose date of birth had been set at 25 December by Pope Julius I (4^thc. AD)—though this claim itself is ripe for contention, and may have been made to align with yet another pagan event, the Roman Saturnalia.

While paganjóland newly-introduced Christmas were coexisting, Christian Scandinavians were naturally observing their holy day differentlythan their pagan counterparts. Most likely, Hákon the Good’s Christmas traditions were quite Anglo-Saxon in character, as he had been baptized and raised in England. Harald Bluetooth, whose conversion had been influenced by the Holy Roman Empire, most probably modelled his Christmas observances in a Frankish style. How much these differed is up for debate. But most likely,jólbecame in general a less lavish event,becausefar more importantin the Christian calendar was Easter—thecelebrationof Christ’s resurrection. So,the full conversion to Christianity in Scandinavia might have been the point at whichjólcelebrations began to centre around households and families, rather than public forums (leaving aside the traditional Christmas mass). It is possible that the use of evergreen plants such as holly and mistletoe as Christmas decorations derives from the Anglo-Saxon influence, as these were common winter decorations in both pagan and Christian England. The Yule log was also probably borrowed in this way.

As to the tradition of Christmas presents, this may have many origins. Pre-Christian Scandinavia had always been a society that was heavily reliant on reciprocal, ritualized gift-giving as a way of strengthening friendships, alliances, and other bonds between people. This was not specifically associated withjól, though it is plausiblethatjólmight have been anaturaloccasion to renew those bonds (the Saga of Hervör and Heidrek does describe the practice of swearing oaths on the boar to be sacrificed for the Yule feast). Others speculate that Christmas presents are derived from the Anglo-Saxon practice of giving alms to the poor in the weeks leading up to Christmas. But these explanations are not mutually exclusive, and they may have simply melded together as the years went by.

One tradition which certainly seems to have survived intact in the conversion ofjólis the practice of drinking.Hrafnsmál, a poetic devotion written c. 900 AD to the paganking HaraldFinehair(king of Norway 872-930 AD), has it that he was so busy with his workofunifyingNorway that he had to “drinkjóloutside”, rather than in the comfort of a hall. Thiscan betaken to mean that drinking was such an integral part of this event, that to “drinkjól” was a known expression. Hákon’s Christianization apparently saw no harm in this, for his own laws made it clear that ale was to flow in abundance for everyone during the days ofjól, and celebrations should not stop until it was drunk dry.Like feasting, drinking at Yule is still going strongin Scandinavia,assnapsand other spirits are consumed, oftenalongsidemerry songs and witty ballads.A variety ofdrinks arestaplesofthejulbord,manyof themflavoredwith festive spicesjust for the occasion.

Summary

Overall, then, the evolution of Scandinavian Yule can be seen as the transformation of a lavish, public ceremony of both conspicuous sacrifice and consumption into a more publicly reserved, solemn religious occasion with more personal, intimate celebrations. It can also be seen as the transformation of a midwinter festival into something more closely aligned with the winter solstice (even if it had no ideological connection to the solstice itself). Later, it continued to evolve into a cultural phenomenon that transcends personal faith or cultural attachment: today, Yule is among the biggest calendar events in Scandinavia, and more broadly, Christmas is one of the biggest events in the world. It will be interesting to see how Yule continues to evolve going forward. But as long as it continues to bring light, joy, and meaning into the lives of those who celebrate it, its story is far from over.

Text: Christopher Nichols. Copyright 2021 Scandinavian Archaeology.

Cover image: “Julfest” by Knut Ekwall (19th c.).