Having nothing but firewood, and in some places peat, to keep warm it was important to acquire a large stock in advance, making sure that the house would remain nice and heated all Christmas without having to disrupt the peace of mind and reduce the festivities. At Christmas, no room should be locked, dark or cold.
The Christmas wood should be nice and sturdy, preferably dry birch and pine. It was to be cut in the growing moon and with the leaves on - then it burned twice as well, it was told. In Fjærland in Western Norway it had to be of seven sorts, the best one came across in the forest during the year. On Christmas Eve, the fire should "crack and crackle and make merry", for when it crackled, the witches were scared away from the chimney! Preferably it should be one single great, big log that would burn throughout Christmas Eve or even longer.
Some notions indicate that in earlier times, the lokal fjøsnisse - or more menacing Christmas spirits - , would make sure that the right procedure had been conducted. In Lofoten it was told, that if the firewood were not proparly provided, the undead came at night and sawing and chopping, making a terrible noise. The usual practice was to chop up enough for the thirteenth or twentieth day of Christmas, and stock it inside for the first two days of the celebration. Any other procedure was considered a disgrace. Finally, a cross of firewood was placed on the chopping block, and it had to lie there until Christmas had passed - to bless the work completed and protect against evil spirits.
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| Theodor Kittelsen. Freezing cold, 1903 |
Source:
- Ørnulf Hodne. Jul i Norge. Cappelen, 1996.
Thank you so much for reading! ☺️
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