"Jòl" ('turning' or 'switching around') is the festival of fertility and peace and can be traced back to (at least) the year 200 CE in the Nordic Countries and is similar to festivals known in Germanic and Roman cultures. (These days known as jul (Nordic) or yule(#) (English))
Of course there was a religious element: sacrifice of animals and drinking a toast to the god(s), but apart from that it was also the time where you feasted on the (sacrificed) animals -especially pigs!(*)- and drank heavily of the good strong and sweet mead.
Not much has changed during the ages as roasted pig and strong, sweet beer still is a big part of 'Jul' in these parts -in fact, the 'eat a lot' and 'drink a lot' parts have only changed by inclusion of newer dishes and drinks NOT by excluding older ones: We still sit around long tables and take a taste of the feast in the after-life in Valhalla!
While we (well: I) usually equate 'elves', as you call them in the Anglo-Saxon culture, with our 'nisser' the 'nisse' (or 'tomte'(¤)) actually is quite a different creature, and as you put out sacrificial cookies for 'Santa' we put out a bowl of rice pudding for the 'nisse' on juleaften (~x-mas eve).
The 'nisser', of course, are a part of daily life (not only seen around solstice) and you have to treat them nice or they may take offence and sour the milk of the cows -or worse!
Oh, btw, you might not know this, but I have known my entire life: the julemand (~ yule-man ~~ Santa Claus) lives on Greenland!
But he has build a nice guest-house for his cousin from The North Pole for when the ice cap melts.
_______________
¤) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule
*) While cristian missionaries tried to condemn the pig as an 'unclean' animal (sound like any other religion you know?) they never succeeded! -I suppose we can thank the Vikings -at least partially- for having bacon today! -Go Vikings!
Sæhrímnir: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarimner
¤) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomte
Of course there was a religious element: sacrifice of animals and drinking a toast to the god(s), but apart from that it was also the time where you feasted on the (sacrificed) animals -especially pigs!(*)- and drank heavily of the good strong and sweet mead.
Not much has changed during the ages as roasted pig and strong, sweet beer still is a big part of 'Jul' in these parts -in fact, the 'eat a lot' and 'drink a lot' parts have only changed by inclusion of newer dishes and drinks NOT by excluding older ones: We still sit around long tables and take a taste of the feast in the after-life in Valhalla!
While we (well: I) usually equate 'elves', as you call them in the Anglo-Saxon culture, with our 'nisser' the 'nisse' (or 'tomte'(¤)) actually is quite a different creature, and as you put out sacrificial cookies for 'Santa' we put out a bowl of rice pudding for the 'nisse' on juleaften (~x-mas eve).
The 'nisser', of course, are a part of daily life (not only seen around solstice) and you have to treat them nice or they may take offence and sour the milk of the cows -or worse!
Oh, btw, you might not know this, but I have known my entire life: the julemand (~ yule-man ~~ Santa Claus) lives on Greenland!
But he has build a nice guest-house for his cousin from The North Pole for when the ice cap melts.
_______________
¤) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule
*) While cristian missionaries tried to condemn the pig as an 'unclean' animal (sound like any other religion you know?) they never succeeded! -I suppose we can thank the Vikings -at least partially- for having bacon today! -Go Vikings!
Sæhrímnir: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarimner
¤) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomte
It's a lot more colourful and interesting than modern day 'spiritualism'. For example, I find there's a courageous and merry sentiment present throughout much of Nordic culture.