Not all Christmas traditions and tales are nice. You may be aware of Krampus, the demonic half-man, half-goat that is a tradition across Europe and has been made famous in some tales.
The folklore surrounds the Yule Cat, whose name is Jólakötturinn. This is not some precious little kitty, but a rather monstrous cat that terrorizes families on Christmas Eve.
According to the story, the Yule Cat is a large black cat that appears on Christmas Eve night when everyone is fast asleep, and prowls around the town.
It’s believed that the story may have started as a way of incentivizing farm workers to complete their autumn work on time, processing the wools before Christmas.