Cover image- Johann Wilhelm Cordes, Wilde Jagd Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons A ferocious storm hit my corner of California in December. The wind howled as it battered the house, moaning sounds came down the chimney, doors rattled, and we could hear branches cracking outside. There was a sudden popping sound, and we were plunged into darkness. Thankfully, the extra…
Category: Winter Legends
Frau Holle- Grimm Fairy Tale, Legend, and Goddess
, Frau Holle Cover Image- Nickge4, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons When it snows in Hessen, people say Frau Holle shakes out her feather beds. Thanks to Grimm’s Fairy Tales, we all have a mental image of an old woman airing her bedding out the window. But the story of Frau Holle goes further back in German history; she…
Rauhnächte- In Germany, it’s the Time Between the Years
My mother’s Oma refused to do laundry during the Twelve Days of Christmas. To me, this makes perfect sense. The Christmas Season is just so busy; who wants to do laundry? But the reason goes deeper, to the legends of the Rauhnacht. The Rauhnächte is the time between the years when old memories carry out traditions from pagan times in…
Frau Perchta? Goddess or Belly-Slitter?
Deep in the Alpine region of Germany, two frightening beings bookend the Christmas Season. Krampus roams on December 5th, and Frau Perchta is associated with Berchentag, the Feast of the Epiphany, on January 6th. But Who is Frau Perchta? Or WHAT is Frau Perchta? Is she an evil hag who kills lazy women and children? Or is she a beautiful…