Artists

Ocelot II

(128,834 posts) Tue Dec 23, 2025, 09:20 PM 14 hrs ago

The Yule Cat, gouache

Last edited Tue Dec 23, 2025, 11:37 PM - Edit history (2)

Gleðileg jól!

The Yule Cat, Jólakötturinn, is a creature of Icelandic folklore. He is the pet of the troll woman Grýla, her husband Leppalúði, and their thirteen troll sons, the Yule Lads. The cat is enormous, bigger than a house, and he prowls around on Christmas Eve looking for people who didn't get new wool clothing for Christmas, whom he eats. "The Yule cat was used as a threat and incentive for farm workers to finish processing the wool collected in the autumn before Christmas. Those who took part in the work were rewarded with new clothes, but those who did not would get nothing and thus would be prey for the Yule cat."

11 replies

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The Yule Cat, gouache (Original Post) Ocelot II 14 hrs ago OP

Love it samplegirl 14 hrs ago #1

Lovely! mwmisses4289 13 hrs ago #2

Wow, that's cool wendyb-NC 13 hrs ago #3

The eyes look like crescent moons. 3catwoman3 13 hrs ago #4

Love your story and illustration! Diamond_Dog 13 hrs ago #5

I love this, especially the scarves blowing in what I imagine is a very... littlemissmartypants 12 hrs ago #6

Thank you SuzyandPuffpuff 12 hrs ago #7

Jolaktturinn - Christmas Cat - Bjork xocetaceans 11 hrs ago #8

I love that song. Ocelot II 10 hrs ago #9

That is really cool. Performing the song had to be a lot of fun. xocetaceans 1 hr ago #10

It's a tongue-twister, but I am proud of the fact that now I can sing in Icelandic. Ocelot II 1 hr ago #11

samplegirl

(13,696 posts)

1. Love it

Reply to Ocelot II (Original post)

Tue Dec 23, 2025, 09:30 PM

14 hrs ago

What imagination!
Merry 🎄 Christmas

mwmisses4289

(3,098 posts)

2. Lovely!

Reply to Ocelot II (Original post)

Tue Dec 23, 2025, 10:16 PM

13 hrs ago

It's a wonderful artwork, especially the cats eyes.

wendyb-NC

(4,589 posts)

3. Wow, that's cool

Reply to Ocelot II (Original post)

Tue Dec 23, 2025, 10:25 PM

13 hrs ago

Giant black cat, with the moon in their eyes, is behind the house, it's holiday magic. That's a very creative painting, thank you for posting your art, Ocelot II.

3catwoman3

(28,484 posts)

4. The eyes look like crescent moons.

Reply to Ocelot II (Original post)

Tue Dec 23, 2025, 10:36 PM

13 hrs ago

Diamond_Dog

(39,646 posts)

5. Love your story and illustration!

Reply to Ocelot II (Original post)

Tue Dec 23, 2025, 10:45 PM

13 hrs ago

littlemissmartypants

(31,440 posts)

6. I love this, especially the scarves blowing in what I imagine is a very...

Reply to Ocelot II (Original post)

Tue Dec 23, 2025, 11:25 PM

12 hrs ago

Cold breeze. Thank you.

🎁🎄❤️

SuzyandPuffpuff

(388 posts)

7. Thank you

Reply to Ocelot II (Original post)

Wed Dec 24, 2025, 12:05 AM

12 hrs ago

Great tale (tail!) Thx for sharing

xocetaceans

(4,335 posts)

8. Jolaktturinn - Christmas Cat - Bjork

Reply to Ocelot II (Original post)

Wed Dec 24, 2025, 01:02 AM

11 hrs ago

Jólakötturinn
(Lag / texti: Ingibjörg Þorbergs / Jóhannes úr Kötlum)

Þið kannist við jólaköttinn,
sá köttur var gríðarstór.
Fólk vissi‘ekki hvaðan hann kom
eða hvert hann fór.

Hann glennti up glyrnurnar sínar,
glóandi báðar tvær.
Það var ekki heiglum hent
að horfa í þær.

...

https://glatkistan.com/2017/02/28/jolakotturinn/

Ocelot II

(128,834 posts)

9. I love that song.

Reply to xocetaceans (Reply #8)

Wed Dec 24, 2025, 01:12 AM

10 hrs ago

I have actually performed it in a choral arrangement, in Icelandic, which seems like a blend of Norwegian and Klingon. We learned how to pronounce it by listening to this exact recording.

xocetaceans

(4,335 posts)

10. That is really cool. Performing the song had to be a lot of fun.

Reply to Ocelot II (Reply #9)

Wed Dec 24, 2025, 10:36 AM

1 hr ago

There is a neat channel on YouTube which discusses older things related to Icelandic among other topics:

Ocelot II

(128,834 posts)

11. It's a tongue-twister, but I am proud of the fact that now I can sing in Icelandic.