Winter is a time for stories, with a crackling fire keeping the cold darkness at bay. Cultures through time have populated the season with all kinds of gods and spirits - let's take a look at...
- Cailleach, the divine hag
- Marzanna, the goddess that drowns
- The long war of the Holly King
- Skadi, the skiing goddess
- Saturn, Saturnalia and the Lord of Misrule
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| Well, it certainly looks otherworldly... (indianabones) |
Cailleach, the Divine Hag
The Cailleach appears throughout the mythology of Celtic Britain. In many ways this mysterious figure resembles a deified witch - and her name derives from the Gaelic "Caillech" or veiled one.Depicted as a shadowy figure that is neither truly good or evil, the Cailleach appears as a veiled hag or crone with a single eye and deathly-pale skin. Despite a frail appearance, she was said to walk the mountains and could fashion the very landscape as she passed. Her powers even extended to the weather, allowing her to determine the duration and severity of each winter.
Contradictions are baked into the Cailleach - not only was she the patron of wolves, she was known to safeguard deer. She was also the goddess of grain - leading to a belief that the last sheaf of the harvest would curse the one who gathered it to live a solitary existence like the hag. Farmers would feed the last bit of the harvest to a sheep in an attempt to avoid the curse.
Despite being a figure of mythical power, the Cailleach seems to have liked her creature comforts. Legend has it that she would prolong the winter only if she had plenty of stocks of firewood - rain on the first day of February (known as Imbolc) meant she couldn't gather more fuel. If this happened, she would let winter end and hand over control to her summer counterpart Brigid!
Marzanna, the Goddess that Drowns
To say that the ancient goddess Marzanna has a bad press would be an understatement. A personification of the worst aspects of winter, her sphere of influence includes death, plague and harsh weather. She is also associated with rebirth... and when she "dies" at the end of winter, spring can begin.Of course, humans are always looking for a loophole. Each year the good people of Poland seek to help the process along with the drowning of Marzanna - a springtime ritual where an effigy of the goddess is constructed, paraded through town, set on fire and dumped into the river. The thought goes that this symbolic killing of winter will help usher in the spring.
It seems that Marzanna may not appreciate this helping hand - folklore claims that if you look at the "drowned" effigy you can expect bad fortune and sickness to follow you!
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| Holly still thrives in the winter... (mariya_m) |
The Long War of the Holly King
Holly features quite prominently in winter decorations, a verdant reminder of warmer times thanks to its hardy evergreen foliage. Holly has a place in folklore as well, with an eternal war between the Holly King and the Oak King.Though both of these leafy figures have ties to crops, growth and solar cycles, that's where the resemblance ends. The Oak King is portrayed as the traditional green man of the forest, wreathed in oak leaves and at the apex of his powers in the warmth of summer. In contrast the Holly King is a personification of winter, appearing as a jolly figure with leaves woven into his hair and beard... and sporting a red suit. Sounds suspiciously like Santa, doesn't it?
The story goes that the two battle as the seasons change, with the Oak King supreme in summer until he loses his leaves and the Holly King triumphs in winter!
Skadi, the Skiing Giantess
The Norse goddess Skadi is a strange figure. Unlike Odin, Thor and the rest of the traditional gods (Aesir) she was a jotun or giant. She is often depicted as a huntress in snowshoes or skiing down the mountainside.The story goes that when the Aesir killed her father, the vengeful Skadi went to Asgard in full battle dress. The Aesir didn't fancy fighting the armored and enraged giantess, so they offered to let her claim one of their number in marriage as a gesture of appeasement. There was only one catch - she had to choose her husband based on their feet alone. She accepted the offer, on the condition that the gods also made her laugh.
Skadi picked the set of feet she thought were most attractive, reasoning that they must belong to the handsome Balder. Unfortunately Balder must have skipped leg-day because she ended up with Njord, god of the sea. Though Skadi wasn't pleased, Loki managed to entertain her by tying a rope between his testicles and a goat (yes, this is really Norse mythology.) His squealing as the goat tried to escape caused the giantess to crack up, fulfilling the remainder of the bargain.
The marriage didn't last, as Skadi was happiest in the mountains and Njord by the sea. Nevertheless, Skadi was accepted by the Aesir thanks to the marriage - she is sometimes considered the goddess of snowshoes!
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| Skadi seems to have been a fan of winter sports... (Jaime Dantas) |
Saturn, Saturnalia and the Lord of Misrule
Saturn was the Roman god of agriculture, time and liberty - amongst other things. His festival "Saturnalia" was held at the end of December - and it shares a lot of elements with modern day Christmas celebrations.Business and education paused for the duration, normal clothing was eschewed in favor of garish colors and homes were decorated with winter foliage. Even slaves were given the time off - sometimes they sat at the head of the table and were served food by their masters.
Gifts were given, music played and celebrations held. The temple of Saturn sacrificed a piglet and the statue of Saturn had the traditional wool bonds around his feet untied. Many households would appoint a "Lord of Misrule" for the period, given license to chase guests and generally make a nuisance of themselves - all to upset the balance of the normal world. Interestingly the custom worked its way into British festivities, where it persisted into the 16th century!
Thanks for reading - for more wintry wonders, try...