During the
Yule holiday, they would disguise their appearance by dressing in a goatskin and go from house to house carrying a goat head. Christian missionaries modified the tradition and divorced its meaning from Paganism. The
Yule Goat became one of the oldest Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbols and traditions. In Scandinavia, the figure of the Yule Goat remains a common Christmas ornament. It is often made out of straw, has a red ribbon around its neck, and is found under the Christmas tree. German and Scandinavian immigrants brought this tradition to America. Though the practice of Julebukking may be dying out in Europe, it can still be observed on occasion in rural communities in America with large populations of people of
Scandinavian descent, such as in
Petersburg, Alaska,
Ketchikan, Alaska and
Rushford, Minnesota.{{cite web ==See also==