Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsFSogol's Advent Calendar Day 14: How did coal become the gift choice for the naughty kids?
The tradition of giving misbehaving children lumps of fossil fuel predates the Santa we know, and is also associated with St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas, and Italys La Befana. Though there doesn't seem to be one specific legend or history about any of these figures that gives a concrete reason for doling out coal specifically, the common thread between all of them seems to be convenience.
Santa and La Befana both get into peoples homes via the fireplace chimney and leave gifts in stockings hung from the mantel. Sinterklaass controversial assistant, Black Pete, also comes down the chimney and places gifts in shoes left out near the fireplace. St. Nick used to come in the window, and then switched to the chimney when they became common in Europe. Like Sinterklaas, his presents are traditionally slipped into shoes sitting by the fire.
So, lets step into the speculation zone: All of these characters are tied to the fireplace. When filling the stockings or the shoes, the holiday gift givers sometimes run into a kid who doesnt deserve a present. So to send a message and encourage better behavior next year, they leave something less desirable than the usual toys, money, or candyand the fireplace would seem to make an easy and obvious source of non-presents. All the individual would need to do is reach down into the fireplace and grab a lump of coal. (While many people think of fireplaces burning wood logs, coal-fired ones were very common during the 19th and early 20th centuries, which is when the American Santa mythos was being established.)
That said, with the exception of Santa, none of these characters limits himself to coal when it comes to bad kids. Theyve also been said to leave bundles of twigs, bags of salt, garlic, and onions, which suggests that theyre less reluctant than Santa to haul their bad kid gifts around all night in addition to the good presents.
Santa and La Befana both get into peoples homes via the fireplace chimney and leave gifts in stockings hung from the mantel. Sinterklaass controversial assistant, Black Pete, also comes down the chimney and places gifts in shoes left out near the fireplace. St. Nick used to come in the window, and then switched to the chimney when they became common in Europe. Like Sinterklaas, his presents are traditionally slipped into shoes sitting by the fire.
So, lets step into the speculation zone: All of these characters are tied to the fireplace. When filling the stockings or the shoes, the holiday gift givers sometimes run into a kid who doesnt deserve a present. So to send a message and encourage better behavior next year, they leave something less desirable than the usual toys, money, or candyand the fireplace would seem to make an easy and obvious source of non-presents. All the individual would need to do is reach down into the fireplace and grab a lump of coal. (While many people think of fireplaces burning wood logs, coal-fired ones were very common during the 19th and early 20th centuries, which is when the American Santa mythos was being established.)
That said, with the exception of Santa, none of these characters limits himself to coal when it comes to bad kids. Theyve also been said to leave bundles of twigs, bags of salt, garlic, and onions, which suggests that theyre less reluctant than Santa to haul their bad kid gifts around all night in addition to the good presents.
From http://mentalfloss.com/article/31910/why-does-santa-claus-give-coal-bad-kids
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
5 replies, 690 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (1)
ReplyReply to this post
5 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
FSogol's Advent Calendar Day 14: How did coal become the gift choice for the naughty kids? (Original Post)
FSogol
Dec 2017
OP
May have its origin in ancient Siberian shamanic smudging rituals to purify 'negative energy'
Donkees
Dec 2017
#1
Getting a lump of coal is better than being eaten by Iceland's Yule Cat.
The Velveteen Ocelot
Dec 2017
#4
Donkees
(31,418 posts)1. May have its origin in ancient Siberian shamanic smudging rituals to purify 'negative energy'
unc70
(6,115 posts)2. Better a lump of coal than a beating from Black Pete
Or being kidnapped by Black Pete and taken to Spain in a burlap sack.
FSogol
(45,488 posts)3. After 2017, I'd be happy to be drug off to Spain.
The Velveteen Ocelot
(115,733 posts)4. Getting a lump of coal is better than being eaten by Iceland's Yule Cat.
If you don't get new clothes for Christmas, the Yule Cat, the pet of a family of unpleasant trolls, will eat you.
The story of the Jólakötturinn likely dates back to the Dark Ages, though the oldest written accounts are from the 19th century. In any case, much like the Krampus, the Yule Cat has long been a Christmas-time enforcer of good behavior, Miss Cellania writes for Mental Floss. According to Icelandic tradition, anyone who finished their chores before Christmas would get new clothes as a reward. Meanwhile, lazy children who didnt get their work done would have to face the Jólakötturinn.
For starters, the Jólakötturinn is no mere kittenit towers above the tallest houses. As it prowls about Iceland on Christmas night, the Yule Cat peers in through the windows to see what kids have gotten for presents. If new clothes are among their new possessions, the big cat will move along. But if a child was too lazy to earn their new socks, the Jólakötturinn will eat their dinner, before moving on to the main course: the child herself, Hart writes.
This is the kind of message Icelanders like to send out in their folklore, Haukur S. Magnússon writes for the Reykyavík Grapevine. If you do not have the money or means of acquiring new items of clothing before the festival of lights, you will be eaten by a gigantic cat.
Presumably the threat of being eaten by the Jólakötturinn is also meant to inspire generosity in children who dont have to fret about the Yule Cat, as giving clothes to the less-fortunate would grant them protection from the monstrous feline. But the giant beast isnt even the only human-eating Christmas monster that Icelanders have the misfortune of having to face every year. Theres also the Jólakötturinns owners: the trolls Grýla, Leppalúði and their 13 children, who are collectively known as the Yule Lads, Magnússon writes.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/each-christmas-icelands-yule-cat-takes-fashion-policing-extreme-180961420/
For starters, the Jólakötturinn is no mere kittenit towers above the tallest houses. As it prowls about Iceland on Christmas night, the Yule Cat peers in through the windows to see what kids have gotten for presents. If new clothes are among their new possessions, the big cat will move along. But if a child was too lazy to earn their new socks, the Jólakötturinn will eat their dinner, before moving on to the main course: the child herself, Hart writes.
This is the kind of message Icelanders like to send out in their folklore, Haukur S. Magnússon writes for the Reykyavík Grapevine. If you do not have the money or means of acquiring new items of clothing before the festival of lights, you will be eaten by a gigantic cat.
Presumably the threat of being eaten by the Jólakötturinn is also meant to inspire generosity in children who dont have to fret about the Yule Cat, as giving clothes to the less-fortunate would grant them protection from the monstrous feline. But the giant beast isnt even the only human-eating Christmas monster that Icelanders have the misfortune of having to face every year. Theres also the Jólakötturinns owners: the trolls Grýla, Leppalúði and their 13 children, who are collectively known as the Yule Lads, Magnússon writes.
FSogol
(45,488 posts)5. Awesome. never heard that story before*. Thanks for posting.
* and I read a lot of folklore.