The Norse pagan customs of Christmas
The Nordic peoples of Scandinavia and the Germanic tribes in northern Europe celebrated the winter solstice through the Yule festival, which was held for centuries before the arrival of Christianity in the region. Similar to the Roman Saturnalia, Yule grew over time, from a period of three days to a holiday of twelve days. The festival celebrated the return of the sun and the lengthening of daylight in the days following the solstice, and the god Odin was worshiped, with animal sacrifices and other religious rituals. Religious ceremonies were a central part of the Yule festival, as was feasting, drinking of ale and mead, and singing.
One ceremony which celebrated the return of the sun was the creation of a sun wheel, made by intertwining branches of evergreens and decorated with runes depicting the Norse gods. The sunwheel resembled the modern wreaths which are used to decorate homes and businesses during the Christmas season. The celebration of Yule was associated with the consumption of ale, and the feasts which were held featured boar and goat which were slaughtered sacrificially prior to being cooked and eaten by the celebrants. Toasts were offered and drunk ceremonially, in a specific order to the gods, with the first offered to Odin, followed by toasts to lesser gods, the king, and to those who had died during the preceding year.
When King Haakon I arrived in Norway, he concealed his prior conversion to Christianity in order to obtain the support of local chieftains, all of whom were pagans. It was Haakon who ordered the extension of Yule to twelve days, according to the Saga of Hakon the Good, written by a Norse poet in the early thirteenth century. Haakon I ruled in the tenth century, and as he consolidated his rule he began to bring priests and eventually a bishop to his realm, to preach the Christian gospel and baptize converts. The gathering of the tribes and families during Yule offered an opportunity to convert many people at one time and place.
Haakon made attendance at the Yule celebrations mandatory, threatening to tax heavily any who failed to attend the ceremonies, extended them to twelve days, and stipulated what the attendees must bring, including food and ale. The Yule festival had traditionally included the burning of a large log, decorated with runic symbols, the predecessor of the modern yule log. Gradually the heathen customs of the Yule merged with the Christian celebration of Christmas with which it coincided. It was the Norse who first decorated fir trees during the solstice festival, with fruits, nuts, and homemade ornaments reflecting family and ancestors, and other items.
The tradition of singing songs composed for the seasonal celebration was part of the Yule festival long before the Christianization of the Nordic peoples, and many were songs praising the pagan gods and the rebirth of the sun, in a manner akin to the Christian songs of the season, which celebrated the birth of a son. Mistletoe was another symbolic plant used in the celebration of the pagan Yule which remains a large part of the season of Christmas in modern times. According to the Saga, Balder, the god of light, had been killed with an arrow of mistletoe wood, and the red berries of the plant were turned white by the tears of his mother Frigga. The white berries resurrected Balder, making mistletoe a plant which could restore life in the pagan tradition.