Wintertide Wonders: Winter Holidays and Superstitions

St. Nicholas Day is filled with delicious feasts and festive gift-giving, but it also carries a darker edge, especially in the companions of St. Nicholas, who sometimes travel with him on his rounds. In parts of Central and Eastern Europe, especially in the Alpine regions, St. Nicholas visits children on December 5th (St. Nicholas Eve, or Krampusnacht, meaning “Krampus Night”) or December 6th (St. Nicholas Day). On these nights, he may be joined by his festively fiendish assistant, Krampus.

A hellish figure described as half-goat and half-demon, Krampus is typically covered in black or brown fur, with cloven hooves, bloodshot eyes, sharp fangs, and a long, pointed tongue. He is often depicted carrying a whip made of birch twigs or horsehair (Billock). Even his name has sinister origins: “Krampus” may derive from the Old High German word Krampe, meaning “hook” or “claw,” or the Bavarian krampn, meaning dead or shriveled (Winick).

While St. Nicholas rewards nice children, Krampus punishes the naughty. These punishments vary by region, ranging from a swat of his birch whip to far more terrifying fates, such as being stuffed into his sack and carried away to his lair, where they may be tortured or even eaten (Billock). While the history of the Krampus legend is uncertain, many scholars suggest that he originated from pre-Germanic pagan traditions rather than Christian Christmas customs. Some link him to Hel, the Norse goddess of the underworld (Billock), while others trace Krampus’s iconography to medieval German art and illuminated manuscripts, whose devils and demons blend Christian and pagan visual traditions (Winick).

Festive Fact: Krampus is not a single recognizable individual like St. Nicholas, but a type of demon or monster (Winick). This means that there can be many Krampuses appearing at once, an especially unsettling thought. The figure who accompanies St. Nicholas is simply referred to as the Krampus for convenience, although he is only one of many.

This tradition has roots in older Austrian folk customs such as Perchtenlauf or Klaubaufe, in which people walked in procession and dressed as Perchten, spirits who come in two distinct forms, the beautiful (Schönperchten) and the ugly (Schiachperchten, or Percht). Historically, women portrayed the Schönperchten, while young men dressed as the Percht, a furry, long-necked, goat-demon creature often considered a proto-Krampus (Grimm 279). Going door to door, the Perth were believed to banish ghosts and demons, while the Schönperchten brought prosperity and dispelled mischief (Wagner).

Long before Saint Nick became the jolly gift-giver with a proclivity for good-natured home invasions, he was St. Nicholas of Myra, a fourth-century bishop in the ancient city of Myra in Lycia (a historical region of Anatolia, or Asia Minor, in what is now Turkey’s Antalya Province). According to Symeon the Metaphrast, a Byzantine author, hagiographer, and saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Nichoas was born around 270 CE in the nearby port city of Patara (Holweck 741).

Nicholas was credited with numerous miracles, even in his youth. These included healing a woman’s withered hand, protecting an infant from fire, and expelling demons from a cypress tree. After undertaking a pilgrimage to Egypt and the southern Levant, he was elected as bishop of Myra in 317 CE and became widely known for his charitable acts, earning the title Nicholas the Wonderworker.

His life, however, was far from comfortable. He was imprisoned during the Diocletianic Persecution of Christians (303-313 CE) and, according to later tradition, was even involved in a physical altercation with the Egyptian theologian Arius at the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE. Nicholas died at age seventy-three in Myra. In 520 CE, the Byzantine emperor Justinian I ordered the construction of the Church of St. Nicholas over his burial site.

Today, the Feast of St. Nicholas, otherwise known as Saint Nicholas Day, is a Christian holiday celebrated on December 6 in honor of the saint. Food plays an important role in many of these observances. In Albania, families often light candles and abstain from meat until midnight, where they welcome guests for meals featuring roasted lamb and pork. In Serbia and Bulgaria, guests are treated to fish dishes, especially carp. In Alsace, bakers prepare mannela (Alsatian for “little guy”), sweet rolls shaped into small caricatures of Saint Nicholas.

Shoes play an important role in St. Nicholas Day traditions, likely because of the popular legend of St. Nicholas and the poor father. On the eve of the feast, children in the Netherlands fill their shoes with hay and carrots for Sinterklaas’s white horse, Schimmel, and leave them out in hopes that St. Nicholas will return them filled with small gifts such as coins, marbles, toys, and treats. Similar customs appear in Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine, where children leave clean boots on a windowsill or outside the front door to await St. Nicholas’s visit.

Bodhi Day, also known as Rōhatsu (臘八), Shaka-Jōdō-e (釈迦成道会), Jōdō-e (成道会), and Alaw ng Bodhi, is a major Buddhist holiday observed on December 8th. According to Buddhist tradition, this date marks the moment when Prince Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree (a Bo tree, Ficus religiosa) in the fifth century BCE at what is now the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India.

Enlightenment did not come easily. Siddhartha is said to have meditated beneath the Bodhi tree, also called the Tree of Wisdom, for forty-nine days, resisting the temptations of Māra (मार), a demon associated with death and desire. By overcoming these trials, he achieved enlightenment and entered nirvāṇa (निर्वाण), a state of perfect liberation and bliss (Naumann 3). Through this spiritual enlightenment (bodhi, बोधि), Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha. Buddhist tradition holds that he was neither the first Buddha nor the last (Naumann 4).

Festive Fact: “Buddha” translates to “Awakened One” or “Enlightened One” (Naumann 3).

Bodhi Day customs vary across Buddhist traditions, but many observances share common themes. Typical practices include additional meditation, chanting sutras, reading the Dharma, and performing acts of kindness (Bodhi Day). Food also plays a meaningful role. Traditional Bodhi Day foods often include tea, cake, and kheer, a milk-rice pudding said to have been the first meal offered to the Buddha by the milkmaid Sujātā after his enlightenment (Smith).

Beginning on Bodhi Day, candles or multicolored lights may be lit each evening for thirty days to represent the many pathways to enlightenment (Smith). These lights are often displayed in homes or hung on bo trees. The trees themselves may also be decorated with strings of beads symbolizing the interconnectedness of all things, along with three ornaments representing the Three Jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha (Smith). In more contemporary or secular settings, families bake cookies shaped like the heart-shaped leaves of the bo tree.

In the United States, perhaps as a result of cultural diffusion, gift-giving may also be a part of Bodhi Day observances (Ikeda). It is important to note, however, that the meaning of the act lies not in the gift itself, but in the intention behind it. The practice reflects the Buddhist concept of dāna, or selfless giving, which emphasizes kindness, generosity, and the expectation of nothing in return (Ikeda).

According to the Hebrew calendar, the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah (חֲנֻכָּה‎ or חֲנוּכָּה‎) begins at nightfall on the 25^th of Kislev and lasts until the 2^nd or 3^rd of Tevet. On the Gregorian calendar, the 25^th of Kislev may fall anywhere between November 28 and December 27. Although Hanukkah is considered a minor festival that does not prohibit work or interrupt daily life, it is one of the most widely recognized Jewish holidays in the Western world (Jacobs 49).

Hanukkah derives its name from the Hebrew root ḥ-n-kh (חנך), meaning “to dedicate.” The festival commemorates the victory of the Maccabees, a group of Jewish rebel fighters, over Antiochus IV Epiphanes, ruler of the Seleucid Empire. At its height, the Seleucid Empire encompassed regions that are now Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, as well as the region of Judea, and its policies included the outlawing of Jewish religious practice. Hanukkah also marks the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after its desecration by Seleucid forces (Jacobs 50).

According to Jewish tradition, the Seleucid occupation defiled the sacred oil used to light the Temple menorah. When the Maccabees reclaimed the Temple, they found only a single small jar of uncontaminated oil, enough to keep the menorah lit for just one night (Jacobs 50).

According to tradition, the menorah burned for eight days, long enough for new oil to be prepared. In remembrance of this miracle, one of the central rituals of Hanukkah is the lighting of the Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah. The hanukkiah has nine branches: eight for the candles representing each night of the miracle, and one for the shamash, the candle used to light the others.

Beginning at sundown on the 25^th of Kislev, the shamash is lit first and then used to ignite the first candle. Each evening, an additional candle is lit with the shamash, until all eight candles are burning on the final night of Hanukkah (Jacobs 53). Once lit, the candles should not be extinguished are are traditionally allowed to burn out on their own (Kimmel 32). The candles usually burn for about an hour and are replaced each day.

It is customary to recite two blessings each night before lighting the hanukkiah: one blessing the candles and another commemorating the miracles of Hanukkah. On the first night, a third blessing is added, the Shehecheyanu berakhah (Ross 255).

Alongside lighting the hanukkiah, the eight days of Hanukkah include a variety of traditional customs and celebrations. Children often play with dreidels—four-sided spinning tops (Yiddish: דרײדל, dreydl) marked with the Hebrew letters nun, gimel, hei, and shin. Together, these letters form the phrase Nes Gadol Haya Sham, meaning “A great miracle happened there” (Kimmel 23).

Food is also central to Hanukkah celebrations, especially dishes fried or baked in oil to commemorate the small jar of oil that sustained the Temple menorah for eight days. Some of these foods include latkes (potato pancakes eaten with jam, sour cream, or applesauce), buñuelos (fried dough fritters popular in Sephardic Jewish communities), and Sufganiyah (round, deep-fried pastries filled with jelly) (Kimmel 32).

Gift-giving is another common custom. Children may receive Hanukkah gelt (Hebrew:דמי חנוכה,dmei ḥanukah), or “Hanukkah money,” which typically consists of small coins. In more recent practice, this often takes the form of chocolate coins.

Some of the oldest winter celebrations can be traced to early Germanic pagan communities. Long before Yule became associated with Christmas, it was an ancient midwinter festival lasting thirteen days and centered around the winter solstice (Cleasby and Vigfússon 326). The word “Yule” derives from the Old Norse jól, meaning “play,” “joke,” or “feast.” The Norse god Odin, chief of the gods in Germanic tradition, was sometimes called “Jólnir,” or “The Yule one,” and midwinter fell in a month known as “Jól–mánuðr” (Old Norse: “Yule month”) (326).

Yule was marked by feasting, bonfires, and storytelling, as well as the arrival of ghosts and monsters. In Norse tradition, supernatural beings grew stronger as the nights lengthened, reaching the peak of their strength on the winter solstice, Yule, the shortest day of the year (326). In Icelandic folklore, some of the most memorable of these beings are the “jólasveinar,” or Yule lads: thirteen mischievous, goblin-like figures. In the thirteen days leading up to Yule, the Yule lads descend from the mountains one by one, each causing acts of mischief ranging from harassing sheep to kidnapping naughty children. They are said to be the sons of Grýla, a fearsome troll-woman or ogress notorious for kidnapping and eating misbehaving children (326).

Today, Yule continues to be observed as its own distinct holiday outside of Christianity in traditions such as Neopaganism, Wicca, Heathenry, and Neo-Druidism. Modern celebrations of this ancient festival include ceremonial gatherings, feasting, gift-giving, and ritual practices. Some of these are drawn from ancient Germanic traditions, while others have been adapted or borrowed from elsewhere. How Yule is understood and observed varies widely among communities.

In Wicca, Yule is a sabbat that falls on the winter solstice that commemorates the rebirth of the Horned God, the male consort of the female Triple Goddess, as the returning sun. These Wiccan ceremonies can be performed alone or within covens. In Neo-Druidism, Yule is known as Alban Athan, and is observed through gathering evergreen plants such as mistletoe and holly, lighting bonfires, offering sacrifices, and bringing trees into the home as decoration (Sansom 28-36).

Tree worship was common among many ancient European pagan cultures, where evergreen branches were used to decorate buildings at the end of the year to deter dark spirits (Britannica). This custom endured through the widespread conversion to Christianity and reemerged in the form of the Yule Tree in regions such as northern Germany. There, evergreen trees were brought into homes in midwinter and decorated with fruits, nuts, and handmade ornaments. This ancient tradition, along with the druidic practice of gathering mistletoe for the winter solstice, helped to shape several customs that later became associated with the modern Christmas season.

In many parts of the world, December 24 is celebrated as Christmas Eve, the night before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, and, in popular tradition, the night when Santa Claus travels the globe in his magical sleigh to deliver gifts to well-behaved children and coal to the naughty.

In Icelandic folklore, however, another visitor may appear on this night. Far larger than any house, this visitor prowls the wilderness seeking to sink its claws into anyone unlucky enough not to have received new clothes before Christmas Eve. With claws at the ready, this is the Yule Cat (Jólakötturinn)!

In southern Wales and east Kent, between Christmas Day and Twelfth Night (also known as Epiphany Eve, a decidedly un-Santa Claus-like figure may make an appearance. Known as the Mari Lwyd, this folkloric visitor takes its name from several possible sources, variously translated as “Grey Death,” “Grey Mare,” or “Grey Mary” (likely referencing the Virgin Mary). In other parts of Wales, the figure is known as the Wassail, the Canvas Horse, or simply the Horse (Hole 124).

Performers honoring this ancient tradition build the Mari Lwyd out of a horse’s skull, which is often authentic. They decorate it with colorful ribbons and drape it in a long white sheet. Two black pieces of cloth are attached to suggest ears, while a spring fitted into the lower jaw allows the mouth to snap open and shut. The hollow eye sockets are typically filled with bottle glass. In East Kent, the skull may be outfitted with iron nails for teeth and a lit candle placed inside the mouth, creating an unsettling, glowing grin (Hole 101).

To complete the disguise, a performer supports the skull on a pole and hides beneath the sheet, leaving only their feet visible. The skull is fitted with jingling reins, and a small group of attendants leads the Mari Lwyd from house to house, where its arrival is anticipated and feared in equal measure.

There are typically five or six attendants, usually played by men and children. They often wear colored ribbons and may also don a wide sash or face paint. The group’s leader holds the Mari Lwyd’s reins and uses a short wooden stick to knock on the doors of homes (Hole 124-125). When the door is opened, the troupe launches into a lively exchange of traditional and improvised rhymes and songs with the householders until they are invited inside, bringing with them both good luck and chaos.

Once admitted into the home, the Mari Lwyd charges around the room, clacking its skeletal jaws and nipping at onlookers, especially women, while the leader theatrically attempts to restrain it with the reins, calling out, “Whoa there, whoa!” After refreshments are shared with the troupe, the group departs, singing a Welsh farewell verse:

Farewell, gentle folk,

We have been made welcome.

God’s blessing be upon your house,

And Upon all who dwell there.

The Mari Lwyd was once understood as a bringer of fertility during the barrenness of winter. Although this interpretation has shifted over time, the figure remains closely associated with prosperity and communal joy (Hole 125).  

Kwanzaa is a secular holiday observed within African American communities from December 26 through January 1. It celebrates African heritage, ancestry, and cultural history. Founded in 1966 by Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga, Kwanzaa draws inspiration from African harvest festivals, particularly the Zulu Umkhosi Wokweshwama (“first fruits festival”) of Southern Africa, which is observed around the December solstice. The name Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, meaning “first fruits of the harvest” (Hartman). Karenga chose Swahili because of its widespread use across Africa.

Each of the seven days of Kwanzaa honors one of the Nguzo Saba, or Seven Principles: Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith). As in Hanukkah, a candle is lit each day during the celebration. The candles are placed in a seven-branched candleholder called a kinara and are known collectively as the mishumaa saba. The set includes three green candles on the left, three red candles on the right, and one black candle in the center (Hartman).

The kinara (Swahili for “candleholder”) rests on a mkeka, a ceremonial mat made of cloth or straw that symbolizes the foundation upon which communities are built. The central black candle, representing Umoja, is lit first and then used to light the remaining candles from left to right on subsequent days (Hartman).