The hauntings lessen as the days grow longer, but next Christmas Eve the cycle begins again. But Glámr returns posthumously to damage property and terrorise the population by night. In the saga of Grettir Ásmundarson, for example, the fearsome shepherd Glámr engages in a mutually fatal Christmas Eve battle with an “evil creature” beleaguering the farm. It’s no surprise in Game of Thrones that those living north of the Wall are referred to as “wildlings” by the citizens of the Seven Kingdoms, or that the truly terrifying White Walkers come from the “Lands of Always Winter” in the Far North. The giants that constantly threaten the civilisation of the gods are associated with rime and frozen altitudes – one even has an icicle-beard that tinkles as he moves. It was said that a mighty winter lasting three years would lead up to ragnarök, the apocalypse. Understandably in such a northern climate, Norse mythology associated wintry weather with hostile forces.
Both festivals involved drinking and feasting – but Old Norse texts also make a firm correlation between yuletide and the supernatural. The word jól was not replaced when it came to designate the Christian feast and related terms are still used in the modern Scandinavian languages.
920-961) ordered that the pre-Christian festival of yule should be observed at the same time Christians celebrated Christmas, Icelandic historian Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241) tells us. In the tenth century, King Hákon the Good (c. Medieval sources offer a decidedly more terrifying vision of Christmas, or jól (yule), its proximity to the winter solstice putting it at the heart of icy nightmares. But the festive season in the Nordic world has not always granted an opportunity for cosy mindfulness. This winter hygge has replaced Nordic Noir as the UK’s favourite Scandi-import.
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