Yule cat

Yule cat

Artwork depicting the Yule cat
Grouping	Monster
Sub grouping	Icelandic Christmas folklore
First attested	Íslenzkar þjóðsögur og æfintýri in 1862
Other name(s)	Jólakötturinn Jólaköttur Christmas cat
Country	Iceland

The Yule cat (Icelandic: Jólakötturinn, IPA: [ˈjouːlaˌkʰœhtʏrɪn], also called Jólaköttur and the Christmas cat^[1]) is a huge and vicious cat from Icelandic Christmas folklore that is said to lurk in the snowy countryside during the Christmas season and eat people who do not receive new clothing before Christmas Eve. In other versions of the story, the cat only eats the food of the people who had not received new clothing. Jólakötturinn is closely associated with other figures from Icelandic folklore, considered the pet of the ogress Grýla and her sons, the Yule Lads.