By Josie Osborne, Campus News Editor
Among the pretty lights and evergreens, people come together each winter season to celebrate the holidays. Whether it’s Hannukah, Kwanza, or Christmas, everyone gathers around warm food and family, ready to share stories from years past. People bake cookies, decorate gingerbread houses, and hang their stockings, happy to continue their traditions. But among these traditions lies another right beneath your noses: winter myths.
Often overlooked due to Santa and his elves being so deeply ingrained in American Christmas culture, Santa Claus is, at his core, a perfect example of a winter myth. His origins trace back to the Greek bishop Saint Nicholas, who was said to have gifted impoverished families with bags of gold, dropping them down chimneys where they landed in stockings. People began dressing up in red bishop costumes as Saint Nicholas, or Sinterklaas, to attend winter markets and spread joy.
Krampus, the Alpine inverse of Santa Claus, is another popular myth associated with the winter season. While Santa is known for bringing presents and joy to children during the Christmas season, Krampus —whose name derives from the German word “Krampen,” meaning “claw”—is said to torment the naughty children, which can get darker depending on the version of the myth. Similar to those who would dress up as Saint Nick, people on Krampus Night, celebrated on Dec. 5, don costumes of the half-goat, half-demon figure to spook passersby.
While Santa Claus and his accompaniments comprise some of the most popular winter myths, there are a variety of other, lesser-known figures. Hans Christian Anderson is the Danish author attributed to many of the modern century’s most famous tales, such as The Little Mermaid, The Ugly Duckling, and The Princess and the Pea. Anderson also wrote stories about the winter, capturing the elements of cold and snow so important to the winter aesthetic.
Pamela DeCius, associate chair of English, music, and the arts, as well as a humanities’ instructor, discussed some of her favorite winter fairytales, reminiscing on the IDS 210 class she used to teach, Once Upon a Time: Readings in Folklore & Culture.
Describing The Snow Queen by H.C. Anderson, DeCius says, “My favorite winter fairy tale involves the love between two friends, Kai and Gerda, and the evil Snow Queen who tried to come between them.”
She went on to explain how, like other myths and folklores, elements of The Snow Queen can be seen in other modern media, such as in Walt Disney Pictures’ Frozen and C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
DeCius also talked about the Nisse of Scandinavian folklore, which are most similar to what we think of as elves. From her time in Denmark, she recalled their traditions involving the Danish folklore creatures.
“They had a program on every day in December, from the first to the 25th, where children (and those with childlike love for the season) could watch what their Nisse (elves) are up to.”
This Nisse tradition is reminiscent of the ever-so-popular Elf on the Shelf, which has taken both the Christmas myth-world and the corporate market by storm since its release in 2005.
Fairytales and folklore, DeCius describes, encapsulates the spirit of the holidays, evoking the feelings she couldn’t quite put a finger on.
“There is something about winter, something magic,” DeCius says.
It is during this season, the time when the year has met its end and loved ones gather, that stories are told more than any other. It is primitive, instinctual to tell stories.
“It is how humans communicate with each other,” says DeCius.
It is through these shared memories and traditions—the leaving of milk for the mythical Santa Claus and the placing of shoes on the windowsill (an Icelandic tradition)—that the holiday spirit is found, in laughter, excitement, and surprise.
