The name Joulupukki literally means Yule Goat.
There is a long Finnish tradition of persons dressing
in goat costume to solicit or perform for leftover
food after Christmas....you can read more here
The Yule Goat is one of the oldest Scandinavian Yule
symbols and traditions. Its origins might go as far back
as to pre-Christian days, where goats were connected
to the Norse god Thor, who rode the sky in a chariot
drawn by two goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr,
and carried his hammer Mjöllnir.
link
In Scandinavia, people thought of the Yule Goat as an
invisible creature that would appear some time before
Christmas to make sure that the Yule preparations
were done right. During the 19th century its role
shifted towards becoming the giver of Christmas gifts
with one of the men in the family dressing up as
the Yule Goat...as you see above...
2 comments:
I love the pictures! Thanks for the wonderful information!
Hi Kenda...welcome! And thanks for your lovely comment!
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