Curly witch hazel branches (called “trollhassel” in Norwegian) often act as a kind of surrogate Christmas tree for displaying ornaments. The Julebukk (Christmas goat) dates back to Viking times and even earlier. Slaughtering a goat for the solstice was a pagan custom, and it’s also said that two goats named Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr pulled the Norse storm god Thor’s cart across the sky. When Christianity came around, goats became associated with devilish pranks during wassailing, and later the horned rams were appropriated as the livestock that pulled the Julenissen’s cart of gifts … before Santa and his reindeer took over.