Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   Today’s blog post is about the Yule Cat from Icelandic folklore, he is known as the pet of the Yule Witch Gryla!   Now, I did a whole post on Gryla last year when I discussed her inclusion in the Yuletide special of Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, which is entitled A Midwinter’s Tale.   While I did write about her Yule Lads last year, I did not discuss the Yule Cat.   That is why I wanted to do a post discussing the Yule Cat this year!   The Yule Cat’s original name is Jólakötturinn, but I will be referring to him simply as the Yule Cat throughout this post.

Gryla is a fearsome figure from Icelandic folklore, actually originating in the Prose Edda, one of the most important collections of Norse Myth!   However, the Yule Cat is not mentioned until much later, with the first confirmed literary reference to the Yule Cat dating back to 1862 and then a more widespread reference in a poetry collection in 1932 (making him quite recent in terms of folklore).    

In order to discuss the Yule Cat, I must discuss Gryla and the Yule Lads, given how intertwined the Yule Cat is with them.   The Yule Lads are thirteen sons of Gryla who are often stated to act as ‘Icelandic Santas’ but are much darker in nature.   In the folklore, for each of the thirteen days leading up to Christmas, one Yule Lad will appear to play tricks, harass people, steal things from their homes, and possibly even commit murder!   However, there is a more modern tradition of children leaving a shoe out on a windowsill at night for the Yule Lads, and if they were nice, the Yule Lad would leave a small gift in the shoe, but if they were naughty, the Yule Lad would leave a rotten potato.   It is obvious where the Santa comparison comes in, as in later additions to the story such as this, the Yule Lads are made into more benevolent figures.   Of course, it should be remembered that the original use of telling their tales was to scare children, as children were warned if they were not good, the Yule Lads may do worse than not give treats, they may be taken off to Gryla to be eaten by her!   Of course, it should be noted that in the oldest lore, Gryla would have been the one stealing the children herself.   In fact, there are tales where Gryla would place children into a sack and take them back to her home and cook the children in a pot (which definitely reminds me greatly of the later fairytale Witch from Hansel and Gretel).

Now that I have briefly covered the basics of Gryla and the Yule Lads, this is where the Yule Cat comes into the story.   The Yule Cat is stated to be a huge, at least twelve-foot-tall (but often said to be larger than a building) Cat.   The descriptions of the Yule Cat often state that he has dark fur, sharp whiskers, and glowing eyes.   The Yule Cat’s temperament can range from being unruly to being completely evil, much like Gryla and the Yule Lads themselves!   Now, as for what the Yule Cat does, he prowls around looking for children who are not wearing items of new clothing after the holiday.   This is because it is assumed that if you had been good, you would have gotten an article of new clothing as a Yuletide gift.   Those who are out not wearing new clothing at the end of December may just become the prey of the Yule Cat.    After all, he eats children not wearing new clothing!   Much like his mistress Gryla, it seems the Yule Cat has a taste for eating children.   It is also how he is linked with the Yule Lads, for they are the ones who may have given children the gift of a new article of clothing that would save them from the Yule Cat!   

I wanted to cover two different variants of the Yule Cat folklore here, as there are many different tellings.   As mentioned above, the Yule Cat will eat those who are not wearing new clothing (any article of new clothing) received as a gift, that is the first variation of the tale.  On the other hand, in some other versions of the tale, the Yule Cat will prowl past houses on Christmas night to see if children have received gifts of clothing (specifically socks), and if the child has not received the gift of socks, the Yule Cat will come into the house and eat the child.   Clearly, we can see that the Yule Cat is seen both as a judge of your behavior over the previous year, whether or not you received a gift, but also of your current behavior, whether or not you are grateful for what you have received (in actually wearing the gifted clothing).

So, I want to end this post by sharing that this fearsome and bloodthirsty Yule Cat is sometimes compared to the Cat-Sith from Celtic folklore.   Being that the Cat-Sith are Cats of Faery Origins, the connection is quite obvious to the Yule Cat, who is owned by a Witch.   Adding to this connection is that Gryla is often described as a Troll, Orgress, or Giantess, in addition to being a Witch!   This possible link could also show that the Yule Cat’s origins in oral tradition date back much further than the earliest literary accounts of this fearsome feline.

I hope you have enjoyed this slightly rambling look at Gryla, the Yule Lads, and the Yule Cat.    What are your favorite things about these scary Yuletide folklore tales?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Note on Image: The image at the top of the post is a cool Yule Cat artwork.   I found the picture on https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/zhlvga/til_that_part_of_icelandic_christmas_lore_is_that/?rdt=45909.              

LINK TO AVALONIAN ROSE FAERY MYSTERIES PATREON: patreon.com/AvalonianRoseFaeryMysteries  

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: I am absolutely thrilled to announce that I will be doing my first-ever Herbal Tea Blending Class on December 29, 2024!   This is a live event hosted at the shop Phoenix Lane.   Here is the link to the event on Facebook if you are interested in learning from me in person: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19hU6vdFm3/

Further Reading/Watching

• https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/yule-cat-jolakotturinn-iceland
• https://www.npr.org/2023/12/23/1221454825/youve-heard-of-santa-maybe-even-krampus-but-what-about-the-child-eating-yule-cat
• https://education.turpentinecreek.org/2023/12/09/the-spooky-legend-of-the-yule-cat/
• https://shocksphotography.com/blog/yule-cat-the-icelandic-murder-floof-of-christmas
• https://www.arcticholiday.co.uk/arctic-news/icelandic-christmas-yule-lads/
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-icelands-christmas-witch-much-cooler-and-scarier-krampus-180967605/
• Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson
• https://youtu.be/3ZVkbyjOwmY?si=1WoYpPc0mo6Xv1N1 (This is a great YouTube video that is a fun look at the Yule Lads, so the Yule Cat is mentioned!)