The Christmas Witch
"Children or bacon, I won’t go away!" Meet the goddess/ogress Frau Perchta, the so-called "female Krampus," plus some contextual history re: Yule and the Wild Hunt of Odin
You’ve likely heard of Krampus, a winter solstice spirit/demon of Germanic origin. In some legends, he’s the son of Hel, the Norse god of the underworld. But did you know the hairy Krampus featured on Christmas cards and ugly sweaters likely derives from a more senior Alpine goddess, Frau Perchta?
The Winter Solstice & the Wild Hunt
First, some context: Thousands of years ago, there was a two-month Midwinter festival called jól in Old Norse, which became geol in Old English, now called Yule. The exact rituals of jól are uncertain, but there are some consistent themes: traveling spirits, kidnappings, and death.
The ancestors of the Sámi—nomadic peoples who inhabited northern Scandinavia for thousands of years—believed spirits associated with the dead would manifest during the Yule period, riding in caravans of sleds pulled by mice and lemmings. Called by the sound of children playing, they’d snatch the little ones and bear them away on their sleds.
In parallel Celtic, Germanic, Norse, and Slavic myths, the Wild Hunt of Odin occurs during Yule. Odin is the Norse all-father, a wise, tricksy deity of war and magic, and the god of the departed. During the Wild Hunt, bands of terrifying warriors or ghosts rode the winter storms, descending on villages to steal people away.
The Wild Hunt provided inspiration for the Hellboy graphic novels and movies. The tv series The Witcher also features a wild hunt, set against a red wasteland.
Some historians believe the Wild Hunt morphed into the witches’ sabbat, providing salacious inspiration for satanic depictions of naughty women.
Today, some Wiccans stage their own Wild Hunt on Samhain (Halloween), led by Hekate, the three-faced chthonic Greek goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, the moon, necromancy, and more wonderfully creepy stuff.
The Christmas Witch
Sometimes called “the Christmas Witch,” “Grandmother Winter,” Frau Faste, Gode, Herke, Stampe, Frau Holle, or Berchta, Frau Perchta was originally an alpine goddess who took care of the souls of dead children. She also made it snow, and taught mortals how to spin linen from flax. Perchta means “bright one,” a description of her original fair form as a maiden, white as snow.
In Iceland, Gryla is a Christmas ogress. She kidnaps and devours naughty children. Nom nom.
The Frau Perchta of today is a sadistic crone obsessed with housework. Her transformation was triggered by a Church-led smear campaign. Even Martin Luther expounded on the evils of Frau Perchta in over a dozen sermons, saying she had a “big snout” and that she called God himself a liar.
Perchta parallels: the Italian la Befana doles out presents, while the Catalonian log Tió de Nadal poops treats!
As this contemporary song explains, if your chores aren’t done by Twelfth Night (also known as Perchtentag), Frau Perchta the Belly Slitter will come to your house, flanked by a wild hunt of women and demons. Sometimes she’s trailed by the spirits of unbaptized children, the littlest one dragging a pitcher full of mothers’ tears. Appearing as a crone with one webbed foot, she’ll slip inside to disembowel you, eat your guts, then stuff you full of straw, rocks, and pieces of glass. Naughty children will meet the same fate: Perchta’s refrain goes, “Children or bacon, I won’t go away!”
Perchta’s large, webbed foot might just be the origin of the Christmas goose itself. The goose foot also parallels the chicken-legged hut belonging to the Slavic witch Baba Yaga, another scary/helpful figure of death, whose origins may likewise be divine.
In another story, Perchta crashes a wedding, curses the bride and groom, like bad B Maleficent, then transforms all the guests into wolves.
Today, masked Perchten honor the goddess-turned-ogress with parades during the twelve nights between Christmas and Epiphany. Horned and hairy minions don bells and make a ruckus in the streets, frightening away evil spirits, and even the winter itself.
Offerings of food still incur her blessings. In parts of Germany, that means dumplings and herring. In Austria, it’s oat porridge and herring, or eggs and more dumplings, which are sometimes set on the roof.
What the hygge?
The Danish and Norwegian term hygge (pronounced hoogah) refers to the cozy feeling of having a mindful moment with those you care about. The word as it’s currently used dates back to the year 1800 or so. A very similar Old Norse word meant "protected from the outside world."
More than a Greeting Card
Serious fans of Frau Perchta are quick to point out the inaccuracy (and inherent sexism) in calling her “the female Krampus,” since she’s the elder of the two.
Perchta is part of a long, varied tradition of mythic multi-aspect goddess-wise-women-hags from around the world, many of whom were seen as a threat to the Christian faith, and so were demeaned and diminished by the Church. Obviously the effort was not entirely successful.
FYI: if you’d like to celebrate with offerings, hearth fires, and feasting, Yule extends from Saturday, December 21 through New Year’s Day this year.
Further Reading
Eaters of the Dead: Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters by Kevin L. Wetmore Jr
The Viking Way: Magic and Mind in Late Iron-Age Scandinavia by Neil Price