Frau Perchta: The Midwinter Goddess

“The Spinning Room Lady”

Frau Perchta may be one of the oldest supernatural entities associated with the Winter holidays, possibly influencing later stories of Krampus, St. Nicholas, and the traditions associated with them. This has been debated among scholars of folklore however, as some sources claim that she has been mentioned in regions of Germany as early as the 10th century, while others insist that her name and motif are too closely related to the feast of Epiphany, and therefore not pre-Christian in origin. Regardless of how old she is, her influence on holiday traditions has been significant and she is worthy of note in any scholarship of early Christmas or Winter Solstice lore.

Reaching far back into early superstition and traditions in the Alpine regions of Austria and Germany shows that Perchta had humble beginnings as the patron goddess of spinning and domestic work. Similar to other European goddesses such as the Germanic Holda and the Nordic Frigg, her primary concern was that of making sure that all households in her domain had spun enough flax and wool throughout the year. It is said that she would watch carefully over the children and house servants throughout the months and keep track of who had been lazy and failed to spin their allotted share of thread and of those who had proven their worth and earned their keep by…