Wiggle Waggle Monsters

This week's work has centered around three new short stories.  I am expanding the Yule Lads coloring book to be a full activity book and include new characters.  The characters are introduced in stories and included in games and puzzles along with the coloring book pages.  The new stories in the book are Gryla's Story-Origins of the Yule Lads, Monster Worm's Afternoon, and The Sunstone.  

While researching these stories, I came across delightful references to "Wiggle Waggle" Monsters.  You can be sure they will turn up in a collection all their own.  What is a Wiggle Waggle Monster?  They are very unique characters that show up in dance-games associated with Vikivaki Games.  The Vikivaki are sort of the Scandinavian version of an old western barn dance, where Wiggle Waggle Monsters are introduced in dance-games similar to Turkey in the Straw.  

The Wiggle Waggle Monster dances are reminiscent of Indian tribal dance that records the history of tribal victories in battle and the hunt.  In the case of the Vikivaki, the stories being told are of wicked monsters, lonely travelers, and Christmas spirits.  There are elements and origins in Icelandic, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish and Finnish traditions, as well as some Faroese, Shetland, and Scottish.  Stories of the Vikivaki Games can be traced back as far as 1588 and were continued as a tradition through 1877.