The Joulogadze of Norway: A Mini-Essay

     In the Norwegian Lappmarken, Christmas Eve, known as ruotta-evening, is busied with a whirlwind of arrangements. While much of the world spends the day readying itself for Christmas, the Finns make preparations for the joulogadze (evil spirits). For the people of Lappmarken, ruotta-evening is perceived as the grimmest time of the year, when the joulogadze freely roam the earth and wreak havoc on the living.[1] It is a longstanding fear and, as Reidar Christiansen reveals, it has been mentioned as early as the seventeenth century in Reverend Petter Dass' Nordlands Trumpet.[2] According to popular lore, these malicious entities spend the night terrorizing churches and other holy places in retaliation of ruottabaeive (Christmas Day), which marks the anniversary of Jesus’ birth.[3] Indeed, as legend maintains, a Norwegian soldier once challenged the joulogadze and, in an attempt to prove his bravery, visited the Leon Church on ruotta-evening. Driven from the building in fright, he fell upon his sword and was instantaneously killed.[4] To prevent unwanted visitations, the Finns hide their brooms, which they believe the joulogadze steal and ride throughout the night, and place brass, flint, or steel into fountains and wells to prevent the spirits from urinating into fresh drinking water.[5]

Works Referenced

Christiansen, Reidar, ed. Folktales of Norway. Trans. Pat Shaw Iversen. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1964.

Emery, Mabel. Norway Through the Steroscope: Notes on a Journey Through the Land of the Vikings. New York: Underwood and Underwood, 1907.

Karsten, Rafael. The Religion of the Samek: Ancient Beliefs and Cults of the Scandinavian and Finnish Lapps. Netherland, E.J. Brill, 1955.
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[1] Karsten, 52.
[2] Christiansen, 33.
[3] Emery, 190.  
[4] Emery, 190.
[5] Karsten, 52.

Monster Sugar Cookies

$20 - $25 (based on 2017 prices)
Makes roughly two dozen cookies

Baking and decorating Christmas cookies has become a holiday tradition among my friends. Each year, we gather at my apartment, open a few bottles of wine, and let our festive creativity flow. While everyone else crafts glittering angels and colorful snowflakes, I gleefully create ravenous monsters and blood-drenched zombies. The cookie recipe we use is rather basic and works well for any holiday.

Cookies

• 2 Cups sifted flour
• ½ Teaspoon baking powder
• ½ Teaspoon baking soda
• ½ Teaspoon salt
• 2/3 Cup butter
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 Egg
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• ½ Teaspoon vanilla
• ½ Teaspoon lemon juice
  

Frosting

• 2 1/2 sticks softened butter
• 5 Cups powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 2 Tablespoons milk
• Food coloring in desired colors
  

1. In large bowl, sift together baking soda, baking powder, flour, and salt. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until it becomes creamy.

2. Blend the egg, lemon juice, milk, and vanilla into the butter and sugar mixture and the gradually add dry ingredients until dough forms. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 375°F and, on a floured surface, roll the dough to 1/8” thickness and, using cookie cutters, cut it into your desired shapes.

4. Place the cookies on a greased baking sheet one inch apart and bake them for ten to twelve minutes or until they reach a golden brown.

5. As the cookies cools, make the frosting. In a large bowl, beat the butter with a hand mixer until it becomes creamy. Then, gradually add milk, vanilla, and sugar and beat until the mixture becomes fluffy.

The Tin Man's Heart

$10 - $15 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one clock

This was a commission piece for a friend’s show. He was doing a modernized rendition of The Wizard of Oz and wanted a flashy heart for the Tin Man to wear. The prop took only a few hours to complete and looked great under the stage lights (the glitter mixed into the red paint added extra glimmer).

• One heart-shaped cardboard box
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat red*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat yellow*
• One sheet of yellow cardstock with a clock image printed on it
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• Two large paperclips
• Five plastic gears
• One yard of red ribbon
  

1. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the inside and outside of the box two even coats of red paint. To enhance the prop’s visual appeal, I decided to mix glitter into the paint. You, of course, are free to apply as many coats as you feel necessary and not add the glitter.

2. Once the paint has dried, trace the box’s outline onto the cardstock image, cut it out, and glue it inside the box. You can have the clock cover the entire surface or, like I did, occupy only a specific corner.

3. With a fine-tipped brush and yellow paint, create a filigree pattern along the inner walls of the box. Try not to over think your design (a random arrangement of scrollwork looks best).

4. Glue plastic gears onto the image to simulate clockwork. If you want a more elaborate appearance, vary their heights and sizes.

5. Cut out the clock’s hands from the cardstock, use needle nose pliers to straighten the paperclips (you could also use steel wire for this step), and glue the wire to the backs of the hands. To elevate the hands, I bent the ends into a v shape.

6. Glue the hands above the clockwork gears. You may have to bend the wires further to adjust their positions.

7. Glue the yard-long strand of ribbon to the back of the box and use a plastic gear to cover the seam. If someone plans to wear the prop, you may need to adjust the size of the ribbon to fit around the wearer’s head.

8. You can enhance the prop with additional details, including adhesive gems or strands of multi-colored beads.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.

"The Old Man of the Wood" (A Poem)

Although written for children, Jane Yolen's collection of Halloween-themed poetry presents more than just the traditionally silly limericks which often fill anthologies of this kind (read her humorous "The Fossilot" here). A few, including "The Old Man of the Wood," are astute and poignant, providing serious glimpses into such elements as magic and mortality.

I went into the willow-wood
To strip a branching bare,
And spied an old man by a stream
With leaves in place of hair.

His fingers were like thorny twigs,
His knuckles knobs of bone,
His legs were gray and heavy
As if carven out of stone.

His face was seamed with jagged lines
And crusted hard as bark,
His voice was whispery like the wind
That haunts the woods at dark.

He said but this one thing to me
That long I've pondered on:
"Your kind is like the yearwood,
Quickly harvested, then gone."[1]

Works Referenced 

Yolen, Jane. "The Old Man of the Wood." Best Witches: Poems for Halloween. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1989. 20.
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[1] Yolen, 20.

Veiled Sugar Skull

$15 - $20 (based on 2016 prices)

Makes one skull

To begin the prop-building process for 2017’s haunt, I transformed two old skulls used in 2015’s voodoo theme into sugar skulls. Although they were not used in the final haunt (they were given to a friend as a birthday present), they did help prepare me for the season.

• One ceramic skull
• One 8 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying latex paint in flat white*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat blue*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat green*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat pink*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat purple*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat red*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat turquoise*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat yellow*
• An assortment of flowers is multiple colors and sizes (e.g. baby’s breath, pink and red roses, white daises)
• A square of black lace at least 12” x 12”
  

1. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the skull three even coats of white paint. I used three to cover the voodoo pattern from 2015’s haunt, but you can apply fewer coats if the skull is new.

2. Detail the skull with polychromatic paints (you, of course, are free to use whatever colors you choose). If you struggle with drawing, buy a ceramic skull with the design already etched in its surface. Also, use black paint to outline and enhance the colors.

3. Once the paint has dried, glue flowers along the top of the skull to create the crown. For a tapered appearance, graduate the floral arrangement, ensuring that the larger flowers are in the center.

4. Create the veil by cutting a square of lace large enough to cover the back of the skull. I used a medium-sized prop, which required a piece of fabric roughly 12” x 12”. To make the veil resemble a mantilla, bunch the fabric near the crown, glue it in place, and fan it outward.

5. You could enhance the skull with additional details, including adhesive gems, glittered accents, or strands of multi-colored beads.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.