The Yule Goat The Yule goat is a spirit or deity from Scandinavian folklore. He is often tied into either Thor's Goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr or Heiðrún, the goat from whose udder sacred mead flows. While Thor would be more prominent if one wished for an Eddic figure origin, Heiðrún would be more likely due to the association of Yule with alcoholic spirits. Though the Yule goat is traditionally male, and finds its origins further back pre-eddas in the animistic culture of Europe. Tying into similar Winter Goat traditions from Dionysus to Krampus, from the Golden Horned Ibex to well... the Yule goat. Similar to the bear the Goat is a symbol of resurrection (the dead) and fertility. As seen in the keeping of a sheaf of grain for the Yule Goat idol. The Yule Goat alongside the Tomte (ancestral spirits) are the gift givers of much of Scandinavia though they are being displaced by assimilated West Germano-Celtic Santa Traditions. -TLK