G is for Gift Givers

I’m doing folklore and book review posts to reach and please a larger audience. Previous years have shown select interest in both and to minimise blogging throughout the year, I’m focusing my efforts on April.

If you’d rather check out my book review for today, go here.

As I’m also promoting my Faery Tales series this month, I had to choose folklore creatures that feature in the books for the A-Z, which is why the creature and letter are a bit twisted to fit together. LOL.

Growing up, I only knew of Kersvader (Father Christmas) as a gift giver on Christmas Eve/Christmas Morning. I know there’s a photo somewhere of me, around three years old, with Kersvader. Folklore has many more gift-giving figures, though.

Folklore

A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Clarke Moore [1832]

‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds;

While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;

And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,

Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,

Gave a lustre of midday to objects below,

When what to my wondering eyes did appear,

But a miniature sleigh and eight tiny rein-deer,

With a little old driver so lively and quick,

I knew in a moment he must be St. Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky;

So up to the housetop the coursers they flew

With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too—

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,

And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;

A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a pedler just opening his pack.

His eyes—how they twinkled! his dimples, how merry!

His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard on his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke, it encircled his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly

That shook when he laughed, like a bowl full of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight—

“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil by Al Ridenour

Opening this book, you knew you would read about the devils, but now we’ll see how witches too figure into our dark holiday.

The witch in question—though she’s also called a goddess—is a figure known primarily in Austria and Bavaria as Frau Perchta. Her name, as you might have guessed, associates her with the Perchten, Alpine spirits already mentioned as prototype for the Krampus. She goes by Pehrta, Berchte, Berta, and a myriad of other related or regional names. In Germany, north of Bavaria, her counterpart is Holda (also Holle, Hulda), identified from the 11th century onward by concerned churchmen like Burchard of Worms as the leader of an infernal horde. Martin Luther seemed to know her as a grotesque mumming figure, referencing in one of his sermons a weird “fraw Hulda,” characterized by a long snout, rags and “straw armor.” To this day, Alpine folklore paints Perchta as a monstrous being, eating, tearing asunder, or disemboweling those who displease her.

She is also a beautiful otherworldly matron whose name evokes purity and light.

Like the Perchten, Perchta is a creature of dualities, and makes her rounds on appointed winter nights to both reward and punish according to deed. The customs associated with her are largely those reimagined by the Church in the traditions of the Krampus and Nicholas. She is, in this sense, the egg from which it all hatches.

Because of Perchta’s strong textual connection to Church holidays, some have therefore suggested that the figure—at least originally—was simply a personification of a Christian feast, similar to Father Christmas embodying that holiday, making her the equivalent of “Lady Epiphany.”

The calendric personification theory did not satisfy Jacob Grimm, and in his impressively exhaustive Deutsche Mythologie, he rejects the notion, pointing to Perchta’s virtual identity to the more clearly pagan figure Holda. Perchta, for Grimm, therefore would simply be regarded as a localized name for Holda. While not identical on all points, the confluence between these two mythical figures is strong enough that modern scholars often treat the two beings as a single entity, hyphenating “Holda-Perchta” for ease of discussion.

In brief, those common traits describe a supernatural being primarily associated with the end of the year (Perchta exclusively so). Both are particularly involved with females and children, with spinning, weaving, and domestic order. Both are also known for nocturnal travels with hosts of unquiet spirits the Church regarded as damned souls or demons. Both figures can bestow blessings or invoke terror, with Perchta being more known for a frightening aspect and punitive acts. As further evidence of Holda and Perchta’s identity, Grimm points to similar, lesser known, folkloric figures in whom the names combine, such as Berchthold and Hildaberta.

The first mention of Perchta appears around 1200, but the word “Perchten” is not employed until centuries later. In 1468, there appears a reference to her retinue, but its members are not called Perchten, nor do they explicitly resemble Perchten as we think of them today. At this stage in Perchta’s mythology, the company she leads is most often understood as spirits of the departed. With time, and frequent attacks from the pulpit, Perchta’s pagan company came to be commonly feared not as ghosts but as demons, something presumably closer to the horned figures we now know. It’s here, via Frau Perchta’s horde, that we find a connection between the Krampus and the souls of the dead.

In the same era we see the myth of Perchta’s eerie night-traveling horde spreading, we also begin hearing of masqueraders impersonating this frightful host. Here the proper name “Perchta” seems to transform into the collective species, “Perchten.”

The very first illustration we have of Perchta seems to show not the figure herself, but in fact a masker. In South Tyrolean poet Hans Vintler’s 1411 Die Pluemen der Tugent (“The Flowers of Virtue”), various superstitions are derided, including a belief in women like “Percht with the iron nose.” Perchta’s long or beaklike nose is a characteristic feature, and is often described as being of iron (as are, sometimes, her hands, teeth, and warts.) The illustration shows a figure with a face not only grotesque but seemingly artificial, with eyes peering out of what appear to be holes in a mask, and hands notably bulky and claw-like, as if gloved.

*More can be read in the book.

Element Encyclopedia of Fairies by Lucy Cooper

Gryla

Descended from trolls and mother of the equally hideous Yule Lads, Gryla is a cannibalistic ogre whose appearance is described in Jon Arnason’s nineteenth-century collection of Icelandic folk tales:

Grýla has three heads and three eyes in each head… Horribly long, curved fingernails, icy blue eyes at the back of the head with horns like a goat, her ears dangle down her shoulders and are attached to the nose in front. She also has a beard on her chin that is like knotted yarn on a weave with tangles hanging from it, while her teeth are like burnt rocks in a grate.

With such gruesome aspect she could hardly be more qualified to frighten misbehaving children, especially at Christmas, when she is partial to feasting on them.

Her 13 sons, the Yule Lads, accompany her but have undergone modification over the years and are now benign present-givers, leaving their gifts in children’s shoes.

*More can be read in the book.

The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John and Caitlín Matthews

BEFANA

In Italy, Befana is the old grandmother who neglected to offer hospitality to the Magi when they called on their way to Bethlehem. She was too busy with her housework when they called and so she followed them. Every Twelfth Night (6 January), on the Feast of Epiphany, she prepares a welcome for them. Because she could not give her own gift to the Christ Child, she now fills the shoes of children with gifts. She has the status of a gift-bestowing fairy in Italian tradition. She corresponds to the Russian character, Babouschka.

BERCHT/PERCHT

Throughout Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Bercht is the old hag with the distaff who lives in the mountains. She has always been interested in the needs of children. Like Berfana, she leaves gifts for them at Christmas, but she is also the one to whom the souls of miscarried or unbaptized children go. She rides upon the winds of Twelfth Night (6 January), gathering up their souls as she goes. As a young woman, she heralds the growing season, but she also acts as a punisher of those who do not tend their yards, fields or spinning, visiting plagues on those who are disorderly or neglectful. Her appearance as a death omen occurs when she comes as a White Lady.

*More can be read in the book.

Rebel Folklore by Icy Sedgwick

Grýla is an ogress who lives in an Icelandic cave, leaving every Christmas Eve to steal the naughtiest children for her cooking pot. She hears whispers about misbehaving children throughout the year, and makes a Naughty List so she can gather them when she leaves her cave. She captures these badly-behaved children in her sack, before turning them into a stew. As the story goes, this less-than-appetising delicacy will last until the following winter.

Grýla doesn’t live alone. She shares her home with the Yule Lads—13 mischievous trolls who play pranks in the days running up to Christmas—and her pet, the Yule Cat (or the Jólakötturinn).

… She appears in 13th-century manuscripts, making her one of Iceland’s oldest figures, and the message behind Grýla is similar to that of Santa—behave yourself and you’ll be rewarded.

*More can be read in the book.

Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology by Theresa Bane

Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a singular, benevolent, happy, and smiling fairy being who has always been portrayed as being portly, symbolic of the abundance he delivers onto others. Dressed in either green or red winter clothing he sports a sprig of holly in his hat.

The mythology of Santa Claus as a guardian of children who gives them presents once a year may have originated in Durope, Turkey; he is said to live in a grand palace high up in the sky or in the further reaches of the north. Deer are sacred to him and elves are in his service. Santa visits houses during the “fairy hour”, which is midnight and uses a fairy whip to drive his team as he flies through the night sky crying out “Ho, ho, ho!”.

*More can be read in the book.

Further Reading:

• Santas From Around the World
• How the character and traditions of Santa Claus evolved over centuries
• Santa Claus
• The History of Father Christmas
• Santa Claus
• Santa Claus Origins: Christian, Norse, or Celtic?
• The Distribution of The Legends of Frau Holle, Frau Percht and Related Figures
• Perchta
• Perchta | The Christmas Witch
• Frau Holle
• Frau Pertcha
• Befana
• Befana
• Grýla
• Grýla and her 13 Yule Lads
• Why Iceland’s Christmas Witch Is Much Cooler (and Scarier) Than Krampus
• Winter’s Wicked Witch: The Chilling Myth of Gryla Revealed
• Icelandic Christmas folklore

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

[piece]

Gift Givers in Modern Culture

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

Gryla was born during the Dark Ages. She married a warlock who later abandoned her sometime after their only child was born. During a famine, Gryla and another witch from her coven made a pact to eat their own children to survive. They cooked and devoured Gryla’s son first, her only child, and then the other witch broke their pact. Devastated, Gryla’s spent the last thousand years trying to replace her lost child. Since then she’s been looking for children to add to her “family”; they’re known as the Yule Lads, for the mischief they cause every midwinter.

Learn more here.

Arthur Christmas

A family who have been Santa Claus for generations, making Christmas happen.

The Librarians

Santa Claus is an immortal avatar of good will who has taken on many incarnations over the course of time, including the Norse god Odin and Nikolas the Wondermaker. Although these incarnations have varied in personality and characteristics, they’ve all served the same purpose: gathering up the good will of humanity over the course of each year and gifting it back to the world as hope during the darkest time of winter.

Learn more here.

Grimm TV series

Gefrierengeber (gə-FREE-rən-guh-BAIR, gə-FRIR-ən-GEH-bər; plural: -geberen; Ger. gefrieren, emphasization of frieren, “to freeze, forming ice or frost” + geber from geben, “to give,” literally “Giver”) is a type of Wesen capable of enduring the harsh conditions of the North Pole. Santa Claus is a notable Gefrierengeber. (“Let Your Hair Down“)

Learn more here.

Rise of the Guardians

Nicholas St. North, better known as Santa Claus, is the Guardian of Wonder and the leader of the Guardians.

Learn more here.

Gift Givers in My Writing

Origin of the Fae: Gift Givers

[origin of fae]

[translation]

Antifreeze (Faery Tales #11)

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