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viking.com | 33 Celtic calendar, the Wheel of the Year. However, in the Norse culture, Jul refers to the god, Odin. Odin was celebrated during Yule as well. Regardless of its origin, Yule celebrations included bonfires, decorations made from holly, mistletoe, and the boughs of evergreen trees, ritual sacrifices, feasts, and gift-giving. The Vikings and Scandinavians would cut evergreen trees and branches and bring them into the mead hall, the main building of the encampment and then decorate them with small carvings of the gods, runes, clothing, and food. These items were used to ward off evil spirits and encourage brighter ones to visit the town because they honoured the gods. This tradition has been adapted and passed down through the centuries and although its origins are obscure to us now, it continues today with people placing cherished objects and sacred images on an evergreen tree— such as figures of angels. Many of us associate the Yule log with another favourite of the season, a rich chocolate cake fashioned like a log and decorated with sugar birds and trees. But this sugary cake has old origins. For the Vikings, a Yule log was in fact a giant log which was hoisted onto the hearth to celebrate the return of the sun each year. Each family member would write down wishes, and place them in the log before it was ceremonially burnt. The Yule log tradition has been modified and adapted and is now present in all of the English-speaking world. In Scandinavia, there is a long tradition of a rather simple straw-like reindeer and other animals along with candle holders and other decorative items which appear solely for Christmas. To those of us used to glitter and mirrored decorations, these appear rather simple, but the original tradition is in fact as old as the Yule log itself. The ancient beliefs of Yule tide honoured the god of the fertile sun and the coming harvest. This god was represented by a white goat, and in Sweden, people regarded the Yule goat as an invisible spirit that would appear sometime before the mid-winter solstice to make sure that the Yule preparations were done correctly. Objects made out of straw or roughly-hewn wood represented this so-called Yule goat. The function of the Yule goat has differed throughout the ages, from signifying for a good new sun in the following year to becoming a symbol for a mischievous and harmless character in the Christian era. Another aspect of our festive traditions, the famous Twelve Days of Christmas, is in fact related to an old Norse tradition. It was believed that Odin, the King of the Gods, rode across the heavens for 12 nights during this season of the mid-winter feast, which lasted 12 days from the winter solstice. In English folk lore the saying goes, if you wash clothes on New Year's Day, you'll be "washing for the dead" or "washing a loved one away". It was thought to mean literally that someone in your household would die in the coming year. Therefore there was a great panic to get the laundry washed, dried, folded and put away by New Year's Eve, but why? It was thought that this was because Odin and his party of riders could get entangled in it and wouldn't be happy with you. Perhaps "not happy" is an understatement! This riding across the heavens lasted for 12 nights, known as the Wild Hunt, and was evidently a terrifying prospect. Vikings believed that Odin would raise his sword and lead a terrifying procession of the dead that hurled across the sky during mid-winter and abduct unfortunate people who had failed to find a hiding place. If they became entangled in your washing then no hiding place would save you from his wrath. More recently, tales of Odin have taken on a more sedate theme, as he seems to have moved on from horse riding terror to merry harmless wanderings in the snow. The character of Old Man Winter became a well known part of Yuletide—and was believed to have visited homes to join the festivities. The Viking god, Odin, had long been described as a wanderer with a long white beard and it is this image that is generally considered to have been the inspiration for the idea of Father Christmas. Paul Hervey-Brookes is an internationally renowned garden designer. A past gold medal winner at the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, he is now a regular RHS judge. C H R I S T M A S I S S U E 2 4 BONUS VIDEO Norways Christmas traditions

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