German Yuletide figure Lutzelfrau brings gifts such as apples, nuts and dried plums to children on December 13 (Saint Lucy's Day)
In Britain and the United States, we are used to “Father Christmas” and “Santa Claus” but other countries and cultures celebrate female gift bringers.
In Czech areas on December 4 - the eve of St. Barbara's Saint Day, women dress as the Barborky, or Barbaras, in white dresses and veils, carrying baskets of sweets for good children, and brooms to threaten the naughty. Sometimes it is Matí?ka or the Blessed Mother who leaves treats in children's shoes on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8).
From the Middle Ages and into 19th century France, people left out food and drink at night for a woman named Lady Abundia, Domine Habundie, or Satia, the French gift-bringer of New Years. She was a later version of Abundantia, the ancient Roman Goddess of prosperity and abundance whose name literally means "plenty" or "overflowing riches" and who brought good luck and fortune to those she visited.
La Tante Arie, is a kind fairy is said to be the reincarnation of the medieval French Countess Henriette de Montbéliard, who arrives with presents on December 24. La Tante Airie takes people who have been frozen by the cold into her grotto and miraculously warms their hearts once more. La Tante Airie, always accompanied by her donkey, listens to children's wishes which are carried to her by the wind. She leaves nice presents for good children, while leaving the naughty ones with nothing but a boot full of twigs. La Dame de Noel (the Lady of Christmas) brings gifts in Alsace.
Anjanas are Cantabrian Mountain Fairies who bring gifts on January 6 every four years.
Snegurochka (Snow Maiden) is the female helper of Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) in Russia. She only appears in winter, presiding over the New Year’s festivities. She retreats to the north in summer. She is said to have long blond hair and wears a blue and white, fur-lined costume.
Babushka is the cranky Russian “Old Woman” who refused to visit the newborn baby Jesus. Some accounts tell that she even gave the Magi wrong directions on purpose! On the eve of Epiphany (January 6) she brings presents to sleeping children.
In the Dominican Republic its Vieja Belén (the old lady from Bethlehem) who brings presents to poor children on January 6. In Switzerland, on Christmas Eve a girl dressed in white carries a lantern through the town, representing the Christ Child. A retinue of six other girls accompanies her, singing carols and distributing gifts.
In Italy it is La Befana, the Christmas Witch, who is the bringer of presents. According to legend she was invited to join the Magi on their journey to visit the newborn Christ Child but preferred to stay at home and clean house. She seems to have regretted that decision because she now wanders the world seeking the child, dropping down chimneys and leaving gifts for good children but only ashes for those who misbehave. She very sensibly wears black, because it doesn’t show the soot!
Mother Goody, who originated in Scotland, is the spirit of New Year’s in New Brunswick, Canada. Children hang their stockings on New Year’s Eve for her to fill. Aunt Nancy or Mother New Year also brings gifts at New Year’s in Canada; children hang their stockings in hopes that she will fill them. In some Canadian areas, “Queen Mab”, the Christmas Fairy, puts gifts into stockings on Christmas Eve – but naughty children find only a birch rod.
Norse Berchta, the wife of Odin, is also a figure found in German and Austrian lore. Other names for her are Bertha, Berchtel, Budelfrau, Buzebergt, Frau Holle, and Percht. She is an old woman who enters the rooms of children to comfort them and bring treats. She is also sometimes described as a leader of the Wild Hunt; the wild Spirits that fly across the stormy sky on Christmas Eve.
Similarly, Hertha, the Norse Goddess of the Hearth, graces the household hearth at mid-winter. Her presence there may be one of the origins of Christmas gift-bringers coming down the chimney.
There is a related German Yuletide figure called Lutzelfrau who brings gifts such as apples, nuts and dried plums to children on Saint Lucy's Day (December 13). She is said to be a witch who rides on the wind at midwinter.
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Adapted with permission of the author/publisher.
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BOOK: The Sacred Herbs of Yule and Christmas
The Sacred Herbs of Yule and Christmas: Remedies, Recipes, Magic, and Brews for the Winter Season
by Ellen Evert Hopman
Ellen Evert Hopman shares folklore, recipes, rituals, and crafts to enliven your Yuletide observance. She explores the origins of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus as well as holiday Spirits and Yuletide animals. She explains how to perform Winter Solstice divinations and make traditional foods and drinks such as Elizabethan gingerbread cookies and Wassail. And she looks in depth at the medicinal and magical properties of the many herbs, barks, and berries associated with the Christmas and Yuletide season such as Frankincense and Myrrh, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Hibiscus, Bayberry, and many more.
This guide offers practical and magical ways to celebrate and honor the darkest days of the year.
For more info and/or to order this book, click here. Also available as a Kindle edition.
About the Author
Ellen Evert Hopman has been a teacher of herbalism since 1983 and is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild. A member of the Grey Council of Mages and Sages and a former professor at the Grey School of Wizardry, she has presented at schools and workshops across the United States and Europe.
A Druidic initiate since 1984, she is the current Archdruid of Tribe of the Oak (Tuatha na Dara), an international Druid Order, a founding member of The Order of the White Oak (Ord Na Darach Gile), a Bard of the Gorsedd of Caer Abiri, and a Druidess of the Druid Clan of Dana.
Visit her website: EllenEvertHopman.com
