Here's the story.
Though no one knows exactly how long the Yule Cat, or Jólakötturinn as he is more properly known, has been around, many folk historians believe is may go back to the dark ages. They do know that he was used as a threat by farmers to scare workers into finishing up the processing of wool from the fall season before Christmas. No doubt many Icelandic parents found the story equally useful with their children. Those that completed their work would receive new clothing as thanks. Those who didn’t were destined to be eaten.
A variation to the story is the Yule Cat eats the food of those who do not work hard. The new clothes rule still applies as it is how he differentiates whose Christmas feast he devours. Regardless of the preference in tale told, his appetite is voracious and he does not discriminate. Still, at the very root of the myth is the time tested adage you get out what you put in. A fairly simple and direct message, delivered courtesy of a ginormous man-eating feline...
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