Árbók Hins íslenzka fornleifafélags - 01.01.1989, Qupperneq 116

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ÁRBÓK FORNLEIFAFÉLAGSINS
Beskow, Elsa: Petters och Lottas jul. 1980.
Eskeröd, Albert: Árets fester. Halmstad 1970.
Jóhannes úr Kötlum: Jólin koma. Reykjavík 1943.
Jón Árnason: íslenzkar þjóðsögur og ævintýri I-VI. Reykjavík 1954-1961.
Sturlunga saga I. Reykjavík 1988.
SUMMARY
The origin of the Christmas cat
Every Icelander is familiar with the story of the Jólaköttur, or Christmas cat, a fearful
creature who takes and eats any children unfortunate enough not to have received any
article of clothing for Christmas. The present article attempts to throw light on the this
creature's origins, and begins by dismissing the theory put forward by folklorist Árni
Björnsson in 1983 that the Icelandic Christmas cat has its origin in the Norwegian Christ-
mas goat, and is a relatively recent importation. Instead, the author argues that both de-
rive from a devil or imp-Iike figure who commonly accompanied figures representing St
Nicholas in pageants celebrating the saint’s feast day (6 December) in Europe during the
middle ages. The author points out that the devil is often thought to appear in the shapc
of a cat, and that a kind of brcad is still eaten in Holland beforc Christmas known as „dui-
vekater" - litcrally the devil’s cat.
St Nicholas was also popular in Iceland during the middlc ages. Ssemundur inn fróði
(„the wise“) is known to have studied in Paris in the late llth century and built the first
church in Iceland to be dedicated to St Nicholas. Icelandic folklore also credits Sæmundur
with a numbcr of dealings with the devil. These may, thc author suggests, be traccablc
to his attempts to introduce European customs regarding Nicholas - including the Christ-
mas cat - into Iceland.
English summary: Matthcw James Driscoli