The Christmas Ham is an ancient traditional ingredient in the Scandinavian Christmas celebration (Yule) and remains as important as the Christmas tree.

Before the arrival of Christianity, a pig was sacrificed to the god Freyr at the Yule celebrations and eaten (see Blót). This tradition of butchering a pig at Christmas continued after the christianization and survives as several dishes (sausages and bread dipped in pork fat) of which the Christmas ham is the most central.

Among commoners, the Christmas ham was usually saved for the summer, whereas more wealthy people ate it at Christmas.