#frau holle

[chlorine-fm]

Wenn der Wein so Arsch ist, dass Frau Holle höchstpersönlich meint "Schätzchen wie wärs wenn du einfach Klöße machst, ja?"

[ur-folk]

In modern folklore, Frau Holle (or Holda, Perchta, Berta) endures as a complex domestic and seasonal spirit. Perhaps her most famous portrayal is in the Brothers Grimm’s tale “Frau Holle” (Kinder- und Hausmärchen, no. 24), where she is depicted as an elderly woman who bestows gold upon a hardworking girl while punishing her lazy step sister. Medieval traditions further reveal her dual nature: ecclesiastical texts, such as those by Burchard of Worms, connect her with demons while popular folk traditions consider her a household spirit and regulating domestic order. Over time, Holda became conflated with figures such as Herodias, Diana, and Perchta, linked to fertility, spinning, and moral judgment, winter, Yule and even the Wütende Heer (“raging host”).

Linguistic evidence traced Holda to the Proto-Germanic root *hulþaz—meaning “gracious” or “friendly”. However, the appearance of “unhulþons” (demons) in the fourth-century Gothic translation of the Bible, such as seen in Mark 1:34, suggests that Holda may be a figure with roots in the pagan past rather than a myth originating in the late Middle Ages. 

The translator of the Scripture named Wulfila (c. 311-c. 383) used the term unhulþo (pl. unhulþons) as a lexical equivalent for Greek δαιμόνιον (with privative un-, meaning “malevolent being” or “evil spirit.” fem: “unhulþo” and masc.: “unhulþa” - Grimm, Teutonic Mythology P. 266). As the essay “Holda: Between Folklore and Linguistics” (Indogermanische Forschungen 113, pages 312-338) points out, Wulfila use of unhulþo suggests Goths were familiar with the term and had already been used among the Goths long before he translated the Bible.

The essay “Holda: Between Folklore and Linguistics” goes on to state: “ The existence of unhulþons tells us that the pious concept behind (un)hulþ- is ancient. The application of this term to the demons of the Bible demonstrates the strength and importance of hulþs to Goths as a cultural principle of daily life. That unhulpo, like Holda, was feminine (as opposed to the Greek demons the term translated) implies a continuity in folk belief, that is, a Germanic *hulþo that developed into Frau Holle. Whether this was an individual goddess or a nickname that could be applied to both pagan deities and Christian saints will remain unknown.” (P.334)

[laurasimonsdaughter]

What if Disney adapted Mother Holle?

I don't know if Disney would, but if I did, I would make Frau Holle the protagonist, instead of the diligent daughter. She is an important person in folk tales and folk belief in her own right and there are so many cool things to explore about her:

Some tales say she is the leader of the Wild Hunt, which might steal people away that are out on nights that they should not be.

Others that she rules over a sort of "in between" piece of heaven (like the beautiful garden the girls reach after falling into a well) and that she takes in the lost souls of unbaptised children, who thought innocent are cruelly denied entrance to heaven.

Some folktales make her into a powerful elven queen who might help lovesick young men or industrious young women, but punishes the greedy.

Just as in the fairy tale she often watches over the art of spinning, sometimes teaching humans how to grow flax or rewarding talented spinners.

In every story she's as likely to show up as an unassuming old woman or a regal young one, or to take either form as she pleases.

I've written before about a Frau Holle that does not send the kind girl home to her abusive family, because I like the version of Frau Holle (or Holla, Holda, etc.) that is a guardian of children.

Jacob Grimm argued she was a pre-Christian Germanic goddess, and I'm not sure I'd go that far. But she is a legendary figure in every sense of the word and I think she'd make a great protagonist for a more epic, cinematic tale than the Grimm fairy tale most people know her from.

[zal-cryptid]

Same anon who stumbled onto your work today. Love how you've integrated Frau Pertcha into this. She barely shows up in media like Krampus or Nick/Santa do.

She has a parallel?/softer form called Frau Holle.

https://sites.pitt.edu/~dash/grimm024.html

Well mostly softer. It's funny because even before I stumbled across Pertcha in your work i was already thinking of the story above. Please keep up the good work, it has made my day a bit lighter and my burdens less heavy. Thank you

Thank you!

[marsprincess889]

Something interesting about the fact that crone goddesses are associated with spinning wheels/weaving, and also associated with winter and fate and inevitability. And the fact that grandmothers love to crochet and sew and knit. Aren't we all gods and goddesses.

[tamfana]

Frau Holle

Frau Holle is perhaps one of the most documented and recognizable Continental Deities. There's a lot to cover so you're going to appreciate the Read More link here, but for the uninitiated Frau Holle is in charge of:

The weather, the fae, the wild hunt, death, the milling of souls, beauty, babies, the home, spinning, chores, labor, and a slew of animals like cows and sheep.

In her most popular myth from the Grimm Brothers, she's known for guiding a girl, Marie, through the otherworld. She asks her to do some chores, of which includes shaking out a feather bed to create snow back on earth. Marie is sent home to a shower of gold and riches for her hard work. In some editions of the story, there is another girl who is lazy, and at the end of her journey in the otherworld she's dumped in pitch (sewage).

This is only one of the stories that cements her place as a goddess of weather. Her hair is sunbeams, her laundry is rain, her loom is the rainbow, she breathes the wind, her hearth creates the fog, and her sweeping causes dusty storms.

Her place as a psychopomp- reaping the souls of her dead during the Wild Hunt, causes another story of hers. As she mills the souls, separating their pieces, freeing the consciousness and reusing the soul parts of the ancestors, she also assigns jobs to the dead. In Germanic Paganism, death is not stagnant- the only few who live a lazy afterlife are those who go to Valhof. Her favorite children, her closest devotees, are chosen to cut stars out from the sky. Some hold ladders, some cut and trim with scissors, some sweep the frayed fabric.

The etymology of her name means either "loud, cheery", or "sweet". This is backed up by two things; 1, shes quite a nice lady, and 2, her month is the windy March when her breaths howl through the nights.

In another Myth, Emperor Louis the Pious (Charlemagne's son) Was hunting a white buck when he lost his troupe. He came across a grove where a wild rose bush bloomed. He knelt and prayed to the Virgin Mary that he’d find rescue, and fell asleep doing so. When he woke, there was snow all around him, despite the trees being lush and green. He took this as a sign that Frau Holle was blessing him to build a church to the Virgin Mary there, and the rose bush still stands today as it grows against the chapel in Hildesheim.

Her name bears some resemblance to the Nordic 'huldr', which relates to forest nymphs with cow tails and great beauty, which they hide with veils. Frau Holle is said to be very beautiful, her chief animal is the cow, and her maiden form is typically shown with a veil. However, there is no proof that these two are the same. I take it into consideration because Frau Holle is also a queen of the Fae and Wild Spirits.

Her sacred plant is the elderflower/elderberry bush. It's because of this that Urglaawers and some Hexe are forbidden from cutting the branches of it in fear of offending her. (and because it would rid itself of a very medicinal plant). In fact, the name for Elderflower Bush in German is 'Holunderblute'. Elderberry is just "holunder.'

The colors Blue, White, Red and Gold are chief to her. Blue and White for the snow, Red and Gold for apples (which are a preferred fruit for her, if you wish to give her an offering.) Her feast day is December 24, or Modranicht (mothers night in Germany), but she's also celebrated on Walpurgisnacht or Hexennacht, April 30 evening and morning May 1st, when she takes off for the wild hunt for the Summer. She comes back to stay for the wintertime after Alleleweizel, which is Okt 30-Nov 12.

[call-of-the-seaside]

The girl took care of everything to Frau Holle's satisfaction and always shook her featherbed vigorously until the feathers flew about like snowflakes. Therefore she had a good life with her: no angry words, and boiled or roast meat every day.

[stellanovainpedeserpentarii]

Krampus, Frau Holle & Tschaggatta — Monster High customs inspired by Alpine and Germanic winter folklore. ❄️