History - Bloody feast: How the Vikings celebrated at Christmas time
Traditional Viking festivities at Christmas time were a bloody and wet and merry affair. According to the Norwegian University of Agder (UiA), blood, sacrifices and drunkenness were all part of the Viking festivities before the Christianization of Norway put an end to the most brutal elements of such celebrations.
"The sacrificial ceremonies and communal feasts with plenty of food and drink were the most important aspects of the Viking festivities," reported UiA professor Helje Kringlebotn Sødal. In contrast to modern Christmas, these festivities were not at all suitable for children. There were no Christmas presents like today, and there was also a lack of coziness.
Gods were honored with animal sacrifices
Anyone wishing someone a Merry Christmas in Norway today, as in Denmark and Sweden, would say "God jul". According to UiA, the term "jul" comes from the Old Norse "jól", a winter sacrificial ceremony that was celebrated between the winter solstice in December and mid-January. The Vikings drank in honor of the gods and paid homage to them with animal sacrifices. Sacrificial blood was splashed on walls, statues and the guests during the ceremonies.
Consecrated beer and meat were drunk and eaten, as Kringlebotn Sødal was quoted as saying in a press release from her university. Otherwise, "jól" was a celebration at home and within the extended family circle. There was also a lot of toasting and drinking - in a way similar to many of today's Christmas family celebrations.
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- Despite the historical brutality of Viking Christmas celebrations, the traditional Norwegian greeting for Christmas is "God jul," which originates from the Old Norse "jól," a colorful and solid festivity marked by animal sacrifices and communal feasts.
- During this jól celebration in Oslo, Viking gatherings were characterized by the frequent use of solid chalices filled with consecrated beer, which they drank in honor of their gods, accompanied by meat from the sacrificial animals.
- The History of Christmas in Norway before Christianization shows that the celebration was a significant event, needing much preparation including the arrangement of solid furniture and colorful decorations for the jól feast.
- The cheerful environment of modern Christmas celebrations in Norway, filled with colorful decorations and gifts for children, is a stark contrast to the traditional and bloody Viking celebrations that took place during the Christmas time in Norway's history.
- If time-traveling back to Norway's Viking era during the Christmas time, one would be greeted by a scene of merry feasting, complete with blood, sacrifices, drunkenness, and colorful decorations fitting for the solid walls of Viking hallways.
Source: www.stern.de
