| “ | Why we chose such a stupid name remains a mystery. [src] | ” |
| — Hiccup H. Haddock III |
Snoggletog is the annual holiday which is celebrated on Berk. Snoggletog is very similar to modern day Christmas, as the Vikings were shown building a tree out of green planks and decorating it with shields in Gift of the Night Fury. Stoick described Snoggletog as a "winter holiday", and Dragons: Rise of Berk and School of Dragons also support the idea, as the Snoggletog events were set during Christmas time. Snoggletog could also resemble Easter, as Astrid decorates dragon eggs with ribbon, causing them to look like Easter eggs.
Gift of the Night Fury
While Stoick proclaims how wonderful this year's Snoggletog will be, all the dragons in the village hear a distant roar; the villagers witness flocks of dragons flying over Berk. One of the village dragons roars back at them, at which all of Berk's dragons take off, leaving the vikings bewildered. In a panic, Fishlegs immediately chains his dragon, Meatlug so she can't leave. Everyone else is devastated at losing the company of their dragons during what should be a joyous time, so Astrid tries to come up with new ideas to distract them from their sadness. She mixes up a mug of what she considers a new traditional drink, and comes up with a game that resembles "mistletoe" called "missing toe", which involves punching instead of kissing.
Meanwhile, Hiccup, feeling bad that Toothless couldn't join the other dragons on his own, creates a special tail fin for him with which he can fly solo. But he too is left brokenhearted when Toothless takes the new fin without looking back, and doesn't return.
Later, Hiccup is walking through the village with a pair of oars on his shoulders when he suddenly bumps into Fishlegs, who has been acting a little suspiciously for the past few days. Observing him carrying a basket full of fish, Hiccup remarks that there is enough fish to feed a dragon. Upon Fishlegs' nervous reaction, Hiccup follows him to the barn where Meatlug was kept chained. As Hiccup opens the doors of the barn, she immediately flies out, snapping the chain and taking Hiccup along with her.
Ruffnut and Tuffnut find out that Meatlug has laid eggs
Later, Ruffnut and Tuffnut find out that Meatlug had laid eggs while she had been chained. Astrid realizes that the other dragons mast have left for the same reason; to lay their eggs. As another way to distract the village from their sadness, she comes up with the idea to give the eggs away as surprise gifts.
Meanwhile, Meatlug takes Hiccup to an island full of dragons, where he immediately realizes why they left Berk. There are lots of dragons celebrating their own sort of holiday, with hatchlings to care for. Though he couldn't find Toothless, he decides to go back home with the help of Hookfang. Hiccup soon finds a way to bring all the dragons back, and the villagers are overjoyed that their dragons have returned.
Happy Snoggletog!
Toothless finally reappears during the holiday festivities in the Great Hall that night. It's soon found out that he left to retrieve Hiccup's lost helmet, explaining why he hadn't been on the island. Now that he's home, Toothless then destroys the tail fin Hiccup made for him, insisting he only flies with his friend from then on out. For Hiccup, it was his best Snoggletog ever because Toothless had proved his loyalty. The Vikings celebrate Snoggletog that year along with the return of their dragons.
Practices
Making Yaknog
Astrid and her Yaknog
Astrid comes up with a recipe to make a drink called Yaknog to bring out the festive cheer of Snoggletog. It's found to be horrible and barely palatable, as Snotlout gets sick and starts crying after having some, and Hiccup gags and spits it out. It's safe to say that that recipe, at least, didn't see another Snoggletog.
Preparing Gifts
| “ | I was looking for your helmet. Odin needs a place to hide your goodies! | ” |
| — Stoick to Hiccup |
Similar to how Santa places his gifts in children's socks, Vikings are to present gifts in helmets, boots, or other places for little children. They believe the gifts come from the god Odin. The particular Snoggletog seen in Gift of the Night Fury, dragon eggs were tied up in ribbons and placed there. However, they exploded and this practice was removed.
Building Snoggletog Trees
Large trees made with wooden planks and decorated with shields are made during Snoggletog. This resembles the modern day Christmas tree. These trees are made by building a tree made of wood and nailing shields onto it. Astrid and Stormfly help by using Nadder spines to attach the decorations.
Gathering at the Great Hall
Vikings of Berk gather at the Great Hall to celebrate, eat, and catch up with friends. The Great Hall is decorated with items such as colorful lanterns, jingle bells, and other colorful festive ornaments. People gather there and wear festive clothes. Gobber, for example, wore a helmet with reindeer horns and holly plants on it, and sleigh bells on his prosthetic arm.
Dragons Laying Eggs
Dragons on The Berkery
Dragons all flock to an island called The Berkery with plenty of pits full of water to lay their eggs. Then, after their young have hatched, they return to Berk. This is not done on Berk as their eggs explode and it would destroy property and possibly cost lives. On the island, there are water pits to prevent too much damage. The dragons push eggs into them where they can then explode safely.
Sighting a Snoggletog Wraith
According to Dragons: Rise of Berk, a Snoggletog Wraith appears on the eve of Snoggletog. According to legend, if one is sighted, it will grant a snowy festive day, which was not the case in Gift of the Night Fury.
Mentions
Snoggletog is mentioned by Gobber in "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", saying there are only 42 shopping days left until Snoggletog, so he's been pretty busy in his workshop making gifts for clients.
Gobber mentions it again in "Crushing It" when he in his delusion mistakes Skullcrusher for his favorite pet yak, Pepe, who he says his family ate for breakfast one Snoggletog.
It's mentioned again by Hiccup in "Quake, Rattle and Roll", when he tells Fishlegs that the last time he's seen his friend so excited was Snoggletog morning when they were seven years old.
It's also mentioned by Tuffnut in "Team Astrid" when he noticed a net shooting catapult of Dagur's, and wonders if Dagur might give it to him for Snoggletog if he asked.
Tuffnut mentions it again in "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" when Hiccup attaches a new yellow tail to Toothless. Tuff dramatically says that wearing yellow after Snoggletog is a "fashion faux pas", parodying the fashion "rule" of not wearing white after Labour Day.
Snoggletog is celebrated in the game School of Dragons with special dragon saddles and clothing the player can purchase for their Viking avatar. Snoggletog decorations are also placed around Berk and on School of Dragons Island. Snoggletog is also mentioned in some Farm Jobs, which the player is asked to harvest certain crops for rewards. One such Job asks for turtle eggs and elderberries to make pudding, most likely a nod to Christmas Pudding.
Trivia
- In 2015, DreamWorks Animation celebrated Snoggletog on December 18.
- Given Snoggletog is celebrated around the Winter Solstice, and with how close to the Arctic the Isle of Berk is, the holiday should take place during two weeks of continual night.
- This is mirrored in the Race to the Edge episode "The Longest Day", when there's two weeks of continual daylight around the summer solstice.
