In Norway’s Christmas Eve tradition, brooms are hidden to stop witches stealing them.
The custom comes from older Scandinavian folklore surrounding Christmas Eve, when supernatural beings were traditionally believed to be active. According to the belief, witches and other spirits could take brooms and ride them through the night. Hiding household brooms therefore became a protective Christmas practice.
The tradition is associated with Norwegian jule traditions rather than with the modern figure of Santa Claus. In contemporary Norway, many people treat it as a folklore custom or a story from earlier generations, not as a literal protection ritual.
This practice is sometimes confused with the Yule goat, another Scandinavian Christmas symbol, or with broom imagery associated with Halloween witches. In Norway, however, the distinctive Christmas detail is the hiding of ordinary household brooms on Christmas Eve. Norwegian Christmas celebrations also include decorating trees, exchanging gifts and eating festive foods such as ribbe or pinnekjøtt.