Flar's Freyja
December 22nd, 2002, 11:05 AM
Received this article from an e-list this morning and wanted to share it, since Holda is associated with Yuletide:
Riding With Holda
By Selena Fox
http://www.beliefnet.com/frameset.asp?pageLoc=/story/118/story_11889_1.html&boardID=49659
Like someone else we know, this yuletide goddess also
flew through the air, slipped down chimneys, and
delivered gifts.
You thought the person in the red outfit giving out
treats to children on Christmas Eve was a jolly,
overweight elf with a white beard and a team of
reindeer leading the way. Nah. That's just what
Santa's spin doctors want the world to believe.
Want to know who really decides who's naughty or nice?
Try Holda, the Teutonic goddess of winter. She's the
beautiful blonde wearing a shimmering gown and red or
white goosedown cape who flies through the night sky
on December 24 bringing gifts and spreading joy.
In Pagan religions, goddesses are an important part of
our celebrations because they help tie us to ancient
traditions and the seasons of the year. Holda is one
of my favorites. Stories about her are found in old
folktales of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Holland,
Denmark, Norway, and other parts of Europe. Her name
means " kind" and "merciful."
I first discovered Holda many years ago while
researching the Pagan origins of Santa Claus. In
addition to learning that the Teutonic Gods Odin and
Thor were part of Santa's mix, I found that in some
parts of old Europe, it was Holda--not Santa--who
brought gifts to children and determined who was
"naughty or nice." I also encountered lore depicting
her as dressed in red and going down chimneys to bring
gifts to children. An old Germanic tradition included
leaving an offering of food and milk for Holda on
December 24, known as Mother Night.
I decided to learn more about Holda, and connecting
with her and her lore has been part of my Winter
Solstice celebrations ever since. I invoke her in
rituals, and keep a picture of her on my household
altar. She is even among the Yuletide characters that
appear in the public Winter Solstice pageant that I
direct each year in Madison, Wisconsin.
As with many ancient goddesses, Holda is complex. Also
called Hulde and Frau Holle, she goes by a variety of
names and takes different forms, depending on locale
and culture. In her form as a beneficent and noble
White Lady, Holda is beautiful and stately, with long,
flowing golden hair, which shines with sunlight as she
combs it. She wears a white gown covered with a
magical white goose down cape. At Yuletide, she
travels the world in a carriage and bestows good
health, good fortune, and other gifts to humans that
honor her. She not only is connected with Winter
Solstice itself, but also with the holiday season that
continues many of its customs, the 12 days of
Christmas--from December 25 through January 6.
In some tales, Holda is a weather goddess. Snow flies
as Holda shakes her cape or the comforter on her bed.
It is said that fog comes from her fires and rain from
her washing day. In other accounts, Holda is a goddess
of prosperity and generosity. Gold coins fall from her
cape as she furls it. In one tale, after a villager
worked all night to fashion a new wooden shaft to
replace the one that had broken on her carriage, he
found she had thanked him by turning the wood shavings
from his work into gold. It was only then that he
discovered the woman he had helped was actually the
Goddess Holda.
In other early lore, Holda was a sky goddess riding on
the wind. She is thought to be an older form of Frigg,
wife of the Father God Odin; in some tales, Holda and
Odin ride the sky together. Holda also has been
honored as a goddess of the moon, and sometimes her
name has been used as a term for a lunar priestess.
Another of her forms is that of a night-riding witch
leading a spirit host in a fierce ride, known as the
Wild Hunt, through the sky and across the land.
During persecution times in Europe, some of those
suspected of witchcraft were said to "ride with
Holda." Her Pagan origins are evident in folk tales in
which she is described as accompanied by a grand and
furious procession of souls of the dead, mostly
unchristened babies and children. It was said that as
Holda and her entourage passed through the fields,
they blessed the land with abundance and caused a
double harvest in the growing season that followed.
In many places, Holda is closely associated with
Perchta (Berchta), her tatters-clad shadow twin
sister, also identified with the Wild Hunt and
Yuletide. On Perchta's Day, January 6, ancient
Europeans left offerings of cakes and milk on house
roofs to bring good luck for the coming year. Holda
and Perchta probably emerged as local variants of the
same goddess-turned-folk character, since both
sometimes appear in tales as hunched-backed crones and
bogey figures, punishing or blessing adults as well as
children for bad or good behaviors, at Yuletide and at
other times of the year. As crone goddesses, they also
preside over destiny and the cycle of birth, death,
and rebirth.
Geese are sacred to Holda, and some say she is the
source of the storybook character Mother Goose. As the
Lady of Beasts, Holda has many creatures associated
with her, including hounds, wolves, pigs, horses,
goats, bears, and birds of prey. In some tales, she
lives in the woods and is the ancient half-tree,
half-woman who gave birth to humankind. Apples and
flax are among the plants sacred to her.
Holda also is associated with lakes, streams, and
wells. In the Grimm's fairy tale, "Mother Holle," she
is visited by two half-sisters at her home at the
bottom of a well, where she rewards the industrious
one with gold but covers the lazy one with pitch.
Holda as goddess of hearth and home presided over
spinning and domestic arts. She also symbolized
virtue, wisdom, and womanhood.
Today, across the United States, Europe, and other
parts of the world, Holda is remembered, not only by
folklorists, but by Pagans of many paths, who invoke
her, give her offerings, and share her stories and
traditions in Winter Solstice rituals and
celebrations. As Holda takes her Yuletide ride this
year, may she bring the world her blessings of peace,
prosperity, and well-being.
Click here for further reading.
For further reading:
Bates, James Allan, Doris Duncan, & Countess Von
Staufer. History of Santa. Fullerton, California:
Duncan Royale, 1987.
Farrar, Janet & Stewart. The Witches' Goddess. Custer,
Washington: Phoenix Publishing, 1987. p. 230, 260.
Fox, Selena. "Frau Holda: Yuletide Goddess" in CIRCLE
Magazine, Winter 2000, issue 78, p. 19.
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. "Holda" in The Encyclopedia of
Witches & Witchcraft, second edition. New York:
Checkmark Books, Facts on File. p. 160-161.
Hilton, Edward. "Winter Goddess"
http://des.users.netlink.co.uk/winter.htm, summary of
"The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related
Figures" in Folklore Vol. 95: 11, 1984.
Karas, Sheryl Ann. The Solstice Evergreen. Fairfield,
Connecticut, 1998. p. 51-53.
Leach, Maria & Jerome Fried, editors. Standard
Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. New
York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1972. p. 500.
Monaghan, Patricia. The New Book of Goddesses &
Heroines. St. Paul, Minnesota:Llewellyn Publications,
1997. p. 127, 252.
Thorn, Thorskegga. "Holda" at
http://www.thorshof.org/holda.htm.
Selena Fox is high priestess of Circle Sanctuary, an
international Wiccan church and Pagan resource center
headquartered in the rolling hills of southwestern
Wisconsin. Selena also is a psychotherapist, a
minister active in interfaith endeavors, and a guest
speaker at colleges and universities.
Riding With Holda
By Selena Fox
http://www.beliefnet.com/frameset.asp?pageLoc=/story/118/story_11889_1.html&boardID=49659
Like someone else we know, this yuletide goddess also
flew through the air, slipped down chimneys, and
delivered gifts.
You thought the person in the red outfit giving out
treats to children on Christmas Eve was a jolly,
overweight elf with a white beard and a team of
reindeer leading the way. Nah. That's just what
Santa's spin doctors want the world to believe.
Want to know who really decides who's naughty or nice?
Try Holda, the Teutonic goddess of winter. She's the
beautiful blonde wearing a shimmering gown and red or
white goosedown cape who flies through the night sky
on December 24 bringing gifts and spreading joy.
In Pagan religions, goddesses are an important part of
our celebrations because they help tie us to ancient
traditions and the seasons of the year. Holda is one
of my favorites. Stories about her are found in old
folktales of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Holland,
Denmark, Norway, and other parts of Europe. Her name
means " kind" and "merciful."
I first discovered Holda many years ago while
researching the Pagan origins of Santa Claus. In
addition to learning that the Teutonic Gods Odin and
Thor were part of Santa's mix, I found that in some
parts of old Europe, it was Holda--not Santa--who
brought gifts to children and determined who was
"naughty or nice." I also encountered lore depicting
her as dressed in red and going down chimneys to bring
gifts to children. An old Germanic tradition included
leaving an offering of food and milk for Holda on
December 24, known as Mother Night.
I decided to learn more about Holda, and connecting
with her and her lore has been part of my Winter
Solstice celebrations ever since. I invoke her in
rituals, and keep a picture of her on my household
altar. She is even among the Yuletide characters that
appear in the public Winter Solstice pageant that I
direct each year in Madison, Wisconsin.
As with many ancient goddesses, Holda is complex. Also
called Hulde and Frau Holle, she goes by a variety of
names and takes different forms, depending on locale
and culture. In her form as a beneficent and noble
White Lady, Holda is beautiful and stately, with long,
flowing golden hair, which shines with sunlight as she
combs it. She wears a white gown covered with a
magical white goose down cape. At Yuletide, she
travels the world in a carriage and bestows good
health, good fortune, and other gifts to humans that
honor her. She not only is connected with Winter
Solstice itself, but also with the holiday season that
continues many of its customs, the 12 days of
Christmas--from December 25 through January 6.
In some tales, Holda is a weather goddess. Snow flies
as Holda shakes her cape or the comforter on her bed.
It is said that fog comes from her fires and rain from
her washing day. In other accounts, Holda is a goddess
of prosperity and generosity. Gold coins fall from her
cape as she furls it. In one tale, after a villager
worked all night to fashion a new wooden shaft to
replace the one that had broken on her carriage, he
found she had thanked him by turning the wood shavings
from his work into gold. It was only then that he
discovered the woman he had helped was actually the
Goddess Holda.
In other early lore, Holda was a sky goddess riding on
the wind. She is thought to be an older form of Frigg,
wife of the Father God Odin; in some tales, Holda and
Odin ride the sky together. Holda also has been
honored as a goddess of the moon, and sometimes her
name has been used as a term for a lunar priestess.
Another of her forms is that of a night-riding witch
leading a spirit host in a fierce ride, known as the
Wild Hunt, through the sky and across the land.
During persecution times in Europe, some of those
suspected of witchcraft were said to "ride with
Holda." Her Pagan origins are evident in folk tales in
which she is described as accompanied by a grand and
furious procession of souls of the dead, mostly
unchristened babies and children. It was said that as
Holda and her entourage passed through the fields,
they blessed the land with abundance and caused a
double harvest in the growing season that followed.
In many places, Holda is closely associated with
Perchta (Berchta), her tatters-clad shadow twin
sister, also identified with the Wild Hunt and
Yuletide. On Perchta's Day, January 6, ancient
Europeans left offerings of cakes and milk on house
roofs to bring good luck for the coming year. Holda
and Perchta probably emerged as local variants of the
same goddess-turned-folk character, since both
sometimes appear in tales as hunched-backed crones and
bogey figures, punishing or blessing adults as well as
children for bad or good behaviors, at Yuletide and at
other times of the year. As crone goddesses, they also
preside over destiny and the cycle of birth, death,
and rebirth.
Geese are sacred to Holda, and some say she is the
source of the storybook character Mother Goose. As the
Lady of Beasts, Holda has many creatures associated
with her, including hounds, wolves, pigs, horses,
goats, bears, and birds of prey. In some tales, she
lives in the woods and is the ancient half-tree,
half-woman who gave birth to humankind. Apples and
flax are among the plants sacred to her.
Holda also is associated with lakes, streams, and
wells. In the Grimm's fairy tale, "Mother Holle," she
is visited by two half-sisters at her home at the
bottom of a well, where she rewards the industrious
one with gold but covers the lazy one with pitch.
Holda as goddess of hearth and home presided over
spinning and domestic arts. She also symbolized
virtue, wisdom, and womanhood.
Today, across the United States, Europe, and other
parts of the world, Holda is remembered, not only by
folklorists, but by Pagans of many paths, who invoke
her, give her offerings, and share her stories and
traditions in Winter Solstice rituals and
celebrations. As Holda takes her Yuletide ride this
year, may she bring the world her blessings of peace,
prosperity, and well-being.
Click here for further reading.
For further reading:
Bates, James Allan, Doris Duncan, & Countess Von
Staufer. History of Santa. Fullerton, California:
Duncan Royale, 1987.
Farrar, Janet & Stewart. The Witches' Goddess. Custer,
Washington: Phoenix Publishing, 1987. p. 230, 260.
Fox, Selena. "Frau Holda: Yuletide Goddess" in CIRCLE
Magazine, Winter 2000, issue 78, p. 19.
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. "Holda" in The Encyclopedia of
Witches & Witchcraft, second edition. New York:
Checkmark Books, Facts on File. p. 160-161.
Hilton, Edward. "Winter Goddess"
http://des.users.netlink.co.uk/winter.htm, summary of
"The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related
Figures" in Folklore Vol. 95: 11, 1984.
Karas, Sheryl Ann. The Solstice Evergreen. Fairfield,
Connecticut, 1998. p. 51-53.
Leach, Maria & Jerome Fried, editors. Standard
Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend. New
York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1972. p. 500.
Monaghan, Patricia. The New Book of Goddesses &
Heroines. St. Paul, Minnesota:Llewellyn Publications,
1997. p. 127, 252.
Thorn, Thorskegga. "Holda" at
http://www.thorshof.org/holda.htm.
Selena Fox is high priestess of Circle Sanctuary, an
international Wiccan church and Pagan resource center
headquartered in the rolling hills of southwestern
Wisconsin. Selena also is a psychotherapist, a
minister active in interfaith endeavors, and a guest
speaker at colleges and universities.