The Yule Goat by KettleQuill on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

The little Yule goat makes his way to the local village.

It’s based on the Yule Goat tradition from northern Europe and Scandinavia. During the harvest, the last sheaf of grain to be gathered was of special importance, and was set aside for the winter solstice and Yule celebrations. This was called the Yule Goat. Then as far as I can tell, this shifted over to an actual goat, originally being given gifts (or perhaps more accurately offerings,) but by the 19th century the Yule goat had become the giver of gifts, (often depicted as a little goat with gnomes) eventually to be replaced by modern day Father Christmas.
Still, however, in Scandinavia a popular decoration for the festive season is a goat made from straw and bound in red ribbon, a nod back to these ancient customs!

If I’m wrong on any of the history of this please let me know, but I hope you enjoy the art!

Also, I’ve finally started an Etsy shop! It’s teeny tiny at the moment, but I’m hoping to slowly add to it with little originals and cards / prints! It’s here! if you’d like to look!