Jól took place over three nights, starting with the midwinter solstice around December 21st. Unfortunately, the eddas we would normally turn to for information don’t contain many details about the celebrations.
So what do we know? There was lots of feasting and drinking. What else would you expect from the Vikings?
In a saga about King Haakon, a Norse king who became a Christian, the king insisted that everyone celebrate a holiday at the end of December. Whether that was Christmas or Jól, everyone had to drink a certain amount of alcohol to prove they were celebrating! At Jól specifically, the Vikings sacrificed horses—which must have been a dramatic sight—and feasted on their meat, including the liver.
The feast was also a time for people to pledge oaths. Old Norse expert Jackson Crawford compares them to New Year’s Resolutions—only they were so incredibly binding at Jól, you could be punished by death if you didn’t fulfill them! The Vikings might have sworn these oaths while placing their hands on a boar to prove their commitment.
There are some other ideas about Jól traditions floating around, but I can’t say how true they are. Some of my favorites to imagine are:
- Calling in ancestral spirits by placing shoes outside the front door
- Placing a tree inside to represent the mythical tree Yggdrasil
- Burning a log to represent the return of light and spring again (Viking winters were literally very dark as they lived so far north)
- People dressing in goat skins and going door-to-door singing
- Giving tokens of appreciation to loved ones
- The god Odin riding through the night sky on his eight-legged horse to visit people in their homes
Do any of these traditions sound familiar? Many are similar to our modern-day Christmas traditions—which is why I love them, but also why I’m suspicious how accurate they are.
Still, it’s fun to imagine all the different things Vikings must have done to celebrate this winter holiday. Surely they had some traditions like this, which must have varied by region yet marked the event as sacred and special to them.
I can picture the Vikings gathered around the hearth, their bellies full from feasting, drinking the last of their mead as they tell stories and sing together. During those longest nights of the year, they huddled close to keep warm and focused on the good: their love for one another, their food and drink, the gods’ favor, and the return of spring just around the corner.