Many of the holidays we celebrate today are not as modern as we like to think. Many of them have their roots in pagan holidays, and while most people are aware of the pagan origins of Halloween, they may not be aware of the pagan origins of other holidays like New Year’s Eve, Easter, Epiphany, and Saint John’s Eve.
Source: (Pinterest/colorized).
The holidays became Christian holidays in 380 AD when Emperor Theodosius issued the Edict of Thessalonica, outlawing paganism and declaring Christianity the only official religion in the Roman Empire. This, of course, was not easy for the Romans who still worshiped the Roman gods like Jupiter. To make this shift a bit more palatable, the Christian Church simply placed the Christian holidays on the same dates as the old pagan ones. Thus, December 25, which was the final day of Saturnalia, shifted from being the Festival of the Sun God to becoming the date of Christmas.
Julebukking Has Pagan Roots
There are other pagan holidays that did not make the easy transition to Christianity, although some of them did seem to get folded into extant holidays. And others were modified by Christian missionaries to strip them of their pagan roots. One such holiday comes out of Scandinavia: Julebukking.
Goats Are Connected To Thor
An old Christmas goat costume from Burlövs Kommun in Sweden. Kaj Fromark. Source: (Pinterest).
The Norse worshipped a pantheon of gods, including Thor and Odin. The Norse celebrated the midwinter solstice with feasts. These celebrations lasted 12 days, and they called it Yule (Jul in the Scandinavian languages). During yule, according to beliefs, Odin rode his chariot across the sky and visited people in their homes. Julebukking arose as part of the pagan rituals, probably in Norway. Like Odin, Thor traveled in a chariot, but he was pulled by two goats. In some Scandinavian households, they decorate with straw goats during the holidays. These goats, also called the Yule Goat, are adorned with red ribbons around their necks and are often found underneath the Christmas tree. This is not the only goat tradition though.
Variations On The Tradition
Source: (Vintagenorway.tumblr/colorized).
Julebukking also involves goats, and the term itself translates to “Yule Goat.” Early on in this tradition people dressed in goatskin to disguise themselves and traveled from house to house carrying a goat head. Although most people don’t disguise themselves using goat skins anymore, they do still occasionally dress up in costumes and face masks and travel from home to home between Christmas and New Year’s Day. They may also disguise their voices and change their body language a bit, obscuring their identity a bit more. At each home, their neighbors attempt to identify who is hiding behind the disguise. In this version of julebukking, once identities are known, and food and drink is shared, the julebukkers travel to the next home. There are other versions of the julebukking tradition. In one, people travel from home-to-home singing Christmas carols. After singing, the julebukkers are rewarded with candy, akin to trick or treating, but a bit more demanding of course. At least when you are handing out candy, you get something in return. In another version, the julebukking group grows with each stop; after visiting a house, one individual from that house joins the group to proceed to the next house. Of course, this becomes quite complicated since the person joining the group would have to come up with a disguise on the spot. In yet another version of the tradition, as the group traveled to each home, they received alcohol. This particular version seemed to fade during Prohibition.
It Is Still Celebrated In Some Places In America
Source: (vintagenorway.tumblr.com).
The tradition came to America with Scandinavian immigrants and is still practiced in some towns with heavily Scandinavian roots, including Petersburg, Alaska, which is sometimes referred to as “Little Norway.” Unfortunately, it has been dying out in Scandinavia, but it is still observed in some of these rural American communities, although they may call it “Christmas Fooling” or “Ghosting.”
