In Icelandic Christmas tradition, the giant Christmas cat said to threaten people without new clothes is Jólakötturinn.
Jólakötturinn, or the Yule Cat, is a huge feline from Icelandic folklore. The story warns that people who do not receive new clothes before Christmas may be eaten by the cat. This threat helped encourage people to finish seasonal work, especially wool processing, and to reward workers with new garments.
The Yule Cat belongs to a wider group of Icelandic Christmas legends involving Grýla, a frightening giantess, and the thirteen Yule Lads. In modern retellings, the cat is often presented as a playful or visually striking Christmas monster rather than a literal warning.
The cat is sometimes confused with Grýla because both appear in Icelandic Christmas folklore. They are different figures: Jólakötturinn is the enormous cat, while Grýla is the giantess associated with the Yule Lads.