The oldest written sources on the Yule Cat are from the Nineteenth Century. These refer to the fact that those who do not get a new item of clothing for Yule are destined to become offerings for the Yule Cat. It may sound strange that the deprived ones will also become prey, but this tradition is based on the fact that every effort was made to finish all work with the Autumn wool before Yule. The reward for those who took part in the work was a new piece of clothing. Those who were lazy received nothing. Thus the Yule Cat was used as an incentive to get people to work harder.
As I walked out on Yuletide,
The winter winds blew cold
I saw the Winter King a-standing,
Grey and grim and old
His cloak was pulled around Him,
A child was in His hand
And He sang, “Blessed Be and Blessed Be
And Blessed Be again!”
-Joe Bethancourt
Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of the Yule Cat. Thanks for sharing this legend.
ReplyDeleteOh cool, I heard about the Yule cat before through the PBS web series Monstrum, so I loved to read what you said about it. :) I loved reading your poem at the end.
ReplyDelete-Quinley