Joulupukki is a Finnish Christmas figure whose name translates as Yule or Christmas Goat.

[minouette@spore.social]

Joulupukki is a Finnish Christmas figure whose name translates as Yule or Christmas Goat. Pukki comes from the Teutonic root “bock”, which is a cognate of the English “buck”, and means “billy-goat”. There is an old tradition of men dressing as a goat at Yule in Finland. These nuuttipukki were evil spirits who would go from house to house demanding gifts and leftovers from the Yule feast. But over time the concept of nuutipukki merged with the idea of Santa Claus and became the 🧵

[minouette@spore.social]

benevolent Joulupukki who gave out gifts, rather than claim them, to well-behaved children. But in some areas, nuuttipukki still make visits on Nuutinpäivä, or St. Knut’s Day, January 13.

Yule goats (Julbocken) are common in Nordic countries, as small decorative straw or wicker ornaments decorated with red ribbon or giant ones like the Gävle goat in Sweden, a frequent target of arson. Some argue they are linked to Thor, who rode in a goat-pulled chariot. 🧵2/3

[minouette@spore.social]

But others argue it is even more ancient and links to proto-Slavic beliefs where Koliada or Yule honors the god of the fertile sun and the harvest who was represented by a white goat. So Koliada festivals always had a person dressed as a goat, often demanding offerings in the form of presents.

#linocut #printmaking #folklore #StKnutsDay #Joulupukki #YuleGoat #Nuutinpäivä #nuttipukki 🧵3/3

[braxa26@mindly.social]

@minouette Thank you! There's a song about Joulupukki on an album dear to my partner's family: Weihnacht in Europa. All the songs are sung in the original languages, and I never got around to searching them for meanings/cultural significance.

[minouette@spore.social]

@braxa26 oh that’s so sweet! Thanks!