tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524743884416328260.post6494608340446256215..comments2024-03-29T02:26:39.005-07:00Comments on ONCE UPON A BLOG: Gryla, Perchta, Befana, Forest Mother, Iron Tooth, Holle, Baba Yaga and... Mrs. Claus? Ho, ho - yes!Gypsy Thorntonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05376146830985305127noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3524743884416328260.post-21032816329698450062016-12-26T17:53:00.473-08:002016-12-26T17:53:00.473-08:00Should be mentioned that so far there is no proof ...Should be mentioned that so far there is no proof that the belief inFrau Holle goes back further than the Middle Ages. Perhaps the lack of female deities left by the displacement of pagan beliefs led to the creation of an all new figure. She doesn't seem to have much in common with Freya anyway. Her association with Winter and Death seems to link her more to Skadi or Hel if there really is a connection to Norse mythology.<br /><br />The author doesn't give much info about the origins of the Christkind, so I'll fill that in: During reformation, the Lutheran Church did not like that people were giving gifts to children on St. Nicholas day, which perpetuated the belief in saints. So someone, maybe even Martin Luther himself, suggested instead that parents should give gifts on Christmas Eve and replace St. Nicholas as a gift giver with Jesus himself ("Der heilige Christ"). You can still read about this custom books up to the 19th century, most prominently The Nutcracker. However over the course of time "Der heilige Christ" got turned into "Das Christkind". The name change was probably inspired by nativity plays,in which the leader of the angels was called "Christkind". And for some reason agels are more often than not imagined as female. Perhaps another response to the lack of female deities in Christianity, perhaps a misunderstanding of the quite androgynous looks of male angels in traditional art. The association with Jesus was lost over time. The folklore corncerning the Christkind got spread to catholic regions of Germany and other German-speaking parts of Europe, while in Lutheran regions Santa Claus (der Weihnachtsmann) overtook the role of gift giver. So nowadays the Christkind is mostly spread in catholic regions. Turning the "Christkind" into an adult woman rather than a child was probably born out of necesessity, because that way professional actors could be hired to potray her (the custom to elect the Nuremberg Christkindl only started in the 60s). In many regions the Christkind is not thought of as a woman, but as an invisible, acorporeal and therefore asexual being. However the association with femininity is not entirely lost. At least where I live, we tell children that only mothers can see the Christkind.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11593854763215902252noreply@blogger.com