Christmas Cat – Yule Lad Ornament icelandicstore.is

The Yule Cat or Jólakötturinn a huge and vicious cat who is described as lurking about the snowy countryside during Christmas time and eating people who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve. He is the house pet of Gryla and her sons.

Though referred to as an ancient tradition, written accounts of the Yule Cat have only been located as recently as the 19th century. The threat of being eaten by the Yule Cat was used by farmers as an incentive for their workers to finish processing the autumn wool before Christmas. The ones who took part in the work would be rewarded with new clothes, but those who did not would get nothing and thus would be preyed upon by the monstrous cat. The cat has alternatively been described as merely eating away the food of ones without new clothes during Christmas feasts. The perception of the Yule Cat as a man-eating beast was partly popularized by poems of Jóhannes úr Kötlum as with the rest of the folklore.

Size: in cm: 7,5 /in.: 3,2

What does the Yule Cat do?

According to legends, the Christmas Cat is a monstrously huge black cat that only appears at Christmas Eve, looking for children who are not well dressed or wearing new clothing. If the Yule Cat finds one, he eats it. 

AVAILABLE SET OF 14 CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

There is a set of Yule Lad-themed Christmas decorations and ornaments set available for you to decorate your Christmas tree or other things to hang them on.

You can also get Christmas figurines with the 13 Icelandic Yule Lads here to decorate your home.

STORY OF THE YULE LADS

They are a group of 13 mischievous pranksters who steal from or harass the population and all have descriptive names that convey their favorite way of harassing.
Care to know more about the other Christmas lads?