It is probable
that no change of date was made at this time, at all events we may, from
the following circumstance, infer that the change, if made, did not
reach the northern portion of the island. Haco, King of Norway, in the
the tenth century fixed the 25th December as the day for keeping the
feast of Yule. King Haco's fixing on this particular date would be a
resultant from the Romish edict, for the Norwegians were at this time
Christians, although their Christianity was a conglomerate of heathen
superstition and church dogma.
According to Jamieson, the eve of Yule was termed by the Northmen
_Hoggunott_, meaning Slaughter night, probably because then the cattle
for the coming feast were killed. During the feast, one of the leading
toasts was called _minnie_, meaning the cup of remembrance, and Dr.
Jamieson thinks that the popular cry which has come down to our times as
_Hogmany, trol-lol-lay_, was originally _Hogminne, thor loe loe_,
meaning the feast of Thor. After the Reformation, the Scotch transferred
Hogmanay to the last day of December, as a preparation day for the New
Year.
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