Icelandic Christmas Cat Song
Above you can listen to one of Icelands most famous and loved Christmas songs about this feared Christmas Cat.
Icelandic christmas cat song. The song is Björks contribution to the Hvit Er Í Borg og BÒ Christmas compilation issued on the Hljóðaklettur label in 1987. The figures are depicted as living together as. A faithful cover of the Shakin Stevens song Snow is Falling but Laddis charming voice and the Icelandic lyrics makes it into one of the most popular Icelandic Christmas songs.
Unlike other parts of the world where Father Christmas or Saint Nick is the only yuletide icon Icelandic culture depicts not one but 13 Christmas trolls. Björk also recorded a popular version of the song in the late 1980s. The Yule Cat is a huge and nasty cat from Icelandic folklore.
Lastly Sigríður tells me the song Morning Has Broken popularized by Cat Stevens in the 1970s it actually originated as a Scottish hymn in 1900 with English lyrics written in 1931 by Eleanor Farjeon has become a very popular Christmas song in Iceland. A song about a monster. Icelands favourite daughter sings her version of the carol Jólakötturinn or the Christmas cat by composer Ingibjörg Þorbergs.
Translation of Jólaköttinn by Björk from Icelandic to English. 12282019 at 946 AM. Icelandic Christmas folklore depicts mountain-dwelling characters and monsters who come to town during Christmas.
Now you know who Laddi is in Iceland. It was part of his childrens book of Christmas poems based on Icelandic folklore Jólin koma. Apparently farmers threatened their employees with being preyed upon by the Yule Cat in order to encourage them to complete the processing of the autumn wool before Christmas.
So imagine the terror of poor children who didnt get a new piece of clothing for Christmas. The threat of being eaten by this massive monster of a cat was not only used to motivate kids. The first song is a 1987 recording of Björk singing a early 20th century poem by Jóhannes úr Kötlum who codified the many old folk stories and myths relating to Christmas.