YULE GOATS OF SCANDINAVIA AND ELSEWHERE

In Scandinavia, there was a tradition that a goat-like creature ventured about at Christmas.  This was called the Julbuk.  A person assumed the Julbuk costume, going from house to house, and was not above pursuing the children.  Youngsters would sometimes go about dressed as him.  On the island of Usedom, divided between Germany and Poland, the custom was for a youth to place the wooden head of a goat on the end of a pole, which had the hide of a goat concealing it.  The jaw was enabled to clatter.  This creature is called the Klapperbok.  Also in Germany we find the Habersack, which had a forked pole with the head of a broom, to make it look like a horned beast.  Four men under a blanket carrying a pole with a wooden goat's head carried the Habergaiss in Austria.

In Finland this creature was known as the Joulupukki, but the term is now used for Santa Claus.

To what extent these traditional animals continue to appear, I cannot be certain.

What was the purpose of these creatures?  They seem to have been connected originally with fertility.  When the Julbock came to your house, you gave him presents in return for a good harvest.


This kind of creature is also found in Celtic countries.  In Ireland it is called the Láir Bhán, in Wales the Mari Llwyd.  These names mean the White Mare and the Gray Mare respectively.