Färöiska jul
Informativ och underhållande video om det färöiska språket, textad på danska. För högstadiet. Gjord av Snöball Film på uppdrag av Norden i Skolan. Jul or jol [jʉːɽ] is the term used for the Christmas holiday season in Scandinavia and parts of Scotland. Originally, jul was the name of a month in the old Germanic calendar. The concept of jul as a period of time rather than a specific event prevailed in Scandinavia; in modern times, jul is a period of time stretching from the fourth Sunday before Christmas Eve , December 24, to traditionally mid-January at the date of Epiphany with the month of December and Christmas, and the week up to the New Year , as its highlight.
The modern English yule and yuletide are cognates with this term. Whereas the start of jul proper is announced by the chiming of church bells throughout the country in the afternoon of 24 December, it is more accurate to describe the season as an eight-week event. It consists of five phases: Advent , julaften , romjul , nyttår , and The End of Christmas, very often with Epiphany , the thirteenth day of Christmas, as the final day of the season.
From the original beginning on Christmas Day, the custom of Julebord has spread to the entire season and beyond, often beginning well in advance of December. The modern day celebration is largely based on the Church year and has retained several pre-Reformation and pre-Christian elements. The central event in Scandinavia is Christmas Eve julaften , when the main Christmas meal is served and gifts are exchanged.
This might be due to the old Germanic custom of counting time in nights, not days e. John' and St. Olav's Mass Olsok , lit. Olav' , with the main celebration on the eve of the official church day. Jul or Jol are cognates of Norse Jòlnir or Ýlir , which are alternate names of Odin , although the root itself is debated. At this time, the animals for slaughter were the fattest, flour had been processed, all the work of autumn was completed, and it was time to celebrate.
The time of celebration has varied. According to written sources such as the legislation of Gulaþing , it was mandatory for farmers to have a beer-drinking party with at least three farmers attending. If a farmer was so far away from his neighbours that this was difficult, he still had to brew as much beer as if he had been taking part in such a party. The beer should be ready by November 1.
God Jul: Scandinavian Christmas traditions stand the test of time
The tradition of Yule ale and "drinking jul " is symbolized by a drinking horn on December 25 on the Runic calendar , with an upside-down drinking horn depicted on January 13, symbolizing that the ale should be finished by then. According to the wording of the legislation, there are two celebrations where beer drinking was mandatory. The first was a form of thanksgiving where at least three farmers attended , while the second was a smaller party for the family.
The old tradition of brewing Yule ale and drinking in honor of the Æsir , friends, and kinfolk also remained in the time following Christianization , with the law demanding people to brew enough as well as strong enough. However, people were now to drink in honor of Christ and the virgin Mary instead. The figure of the mischievous but gift-bearing Norse nisse , a mythological creature associated with the winter solstice in Scandinavian folklore , is a white-bearded, red-wearing ancestral spirit also known as Julenissen ' Jul spirit' , which has been integrated with the figure of Sinterklaas to comprise the modern-day figure of Santa Claus.
Sacramental meals were formally called blót —in this particular instance, yuleblót or winterblót. As usual in the western world , Christmas features Christmas dinner, decorated Christmas trees and the exchange of gifts. Remnants of customs from the older agrarian society include decoration with boughs of green from spruce or fir, e. Culinary traditions vary regionally.
It’s All Jul: Finnish Christmas Traditions
In Northern and Western Norway , pinnekjøtt ribs of mutton which are salted and dried, and some places also smoked, and then steamed is a common dish, whereas lutefisk and cod are popular in Southern Norway. In Eastern Norway and Central Norway , pork rib roast is common, usually served with medisterkaker and medisterpølser meatballs and sausages made of minced pork meat with suet. Turkey has recently made its way into the variety of cuisines enjoyed during jul.
Other traditional foods are eaten at første juledags frokost , a Christmas Day luncheon where the household serves all available delicacies in a grand buffet. Families might serve several kinds of meat such as ham, fenalår leg of lamb , cooked cured leg of lamb, pickled pigs' trotters, head cheese, mutton roll, pork roll, or ox tongue; and several kinds of fish such as smoked salmon, gravlax , rakfisk , and pickled herring.
There will also be a range of cheeses and various types of jam. After the meal, tradition prescribes serving seven kinds of julebakst , pastries and coffee breads associated with the holiday. Gingerbread and gingerbread houses are commonly decorated with sugar frosting. Although originating in Sweden, strawberry-flavoured marshmallow Santa Claus candy called "juleskum" is also commonly eaten in Norway. On Christmas Eve, many families eat risengrynsgrøt , a type of rice porridge that includes a single almond , scalded of its skin to leave it white.
Whoever gets the almond wins a prize , usually a marzipan pig. Brewing is closely associated with the preparations for jul , and most Norwegian breweries release a traditional Christmas beer , which is darker, stronger and more flavorful than the common Norwegian lagers. Breweries also produce a special soda, known as julebrus. Aquavit is also commonly served as a digestif to accompany the heavy, often fatty meals.
Julebord is a holiday banquet , often in the form of a buffet , at which is served traditional Christmas foods and alcoholic beverages. The period during which julebord is hosted begins in November and overlaps the beginning of Advent.