Stephanie Marie Uhranowsky If you are familiar with alt and nontraditional Yule lore, surely you’ve heard of Krampus. But have you heard the story of Frau Perchta? Her story hails from the Alpine region of Germany and Austria. Her namesake and town terrorizing ways were not always so. Perchta, a long time ago, went by a different name.
BERCHTA
Perchta did not always roam the countryside, slitting the bellies of the unfortunate children who misbehaved that year. It is said that Perchta’s story begins as Berchta (meaning “bright” or “shining one”) or Bertha (“White Lady” or “Lady in White”). As the White Lady, she was associated with birch trees and would protect the forest and all the wildlife who lived there as its guardian and keeper. She was also a spirit guide or psychopomp, guiding the dead into the afterlife. Her duty was to care for Heimchen, all children who died in infancy. She was considered to be a goddess of the in-between - found between safety and danger, between life and death, and on the Epiphany, between time (the old year and the new).
In her duality, she was depicted as a young maiden with long hair who wore a white gown but she could also reveal herself as an old crone with a splayed foot (possibly from years on the spinning wheel), or even a goose foot (signifying her as a shapeshifter and caretaker of animals). In this image, she was believed to be the upholder of cultural taboos. Some lore acknowledges her involvement in the Wild Hunt, Grimm’s in particular.
For the women and young girls of the countryside, spinning and weaving was an important trade. Berchta was the onlooker of this craft, ensuring these young women completed their spinning tasks for the year.
Women looked to Berchta for abundance, for caring for their children (especially in the afterlife as infant mortality rates were very high at this time), and domestic issues. On Berchtentag, January 6th, women would cook a special meal of gruel and fish, leaving an offering for Berchta. If she accepted the offering, the family would receive blessings and abundance in the year to come.
At this time, around the 6th century, the Catholic Church held great power over Bavaria. The church insisted that the community renounce its pagan beliefs. But many people did not. Women especially, did not want to give up their goddess.
In typical church fashion, authoritative officials began to speak out against Berchta, claiming believers were worshiping “Domina Perchta” instead of the Virgin Mary. By the 12th century, the Catholic Church began resorting to fear tactics, renaming Berchta to Perchta, reconstructing the White Lady - protector of the forest, keeper of wildlife, and psychopomp to spirits of children taken far too soon - into an ugly hag who slit the bellies of misbehaving children. They shaped and molded her into the female version of Krampus, the devilish counterpart to St. Nicholas. The word “perchten” means scary monsters, so Berchta became “Perchta, leader of the Perchten.” But followers kept on believing despite the church’s efforts to paint Berchta in a hideous light.
In 1468, church officials outlawed the Cult of Perchta in the Thesaurus Pauperum, forbidding offerings to be left during the Yule season. The Thesaurus Paupernaum was written by prominent church officials such as Pope John XXI and Saint Albertus Magnus, with contributions from mineralogist George Frederick Kunz. Its recordings span a period of about seven centuries, and it is included in the Library of Congress Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts Collection (Valentor, 2020). In other words, it was something to pay attention to, especially during this time.
By 1700, this church’s efforts were solidified and Berchta’s transformation into Frau Perchta was complete. She was the Yuletide Boogeyman - the Belly-Slitter.
THE BURNING TIMES
The quashing of Berchta and birth of Perchta takes place during an interesting time period in European history. The years between 1450 and 1700 are known as The Burning Times, when prosecutions for the crime of witchcraft reached their peak. Fear and uncertainty were rife. Holding fast to pagan beliefs could mean persecution. So could being a healer, midwife, diviner, or herbalist, or also just an independent woman.
The Holy Roman Empire (which included modern-day Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) became the epicenter of the European Witch Craze. The German trials of Trier, Würzburg, and Bamberg were among the largest in history, each resulting in the executions of 1,000 individuals (Larsen, 2021).
While the true number of victims is disputed among historians, most agree that around 50,000 innocent people were executed for witchcraft during this era (though some scholars believe the number was 100,000 or more). 40% lived in modern-day Germany, and 75% lived in what were German-speaking lands at the time (Larsen, 2021).
Germany, a major proponent of the Reformations, was one of the worst offenders. Historians report that entire populations of women in towns and villages were sometimes eliminated (Valentor, 2020).
THE BELLY SLITTER
In the newly forged and fearful folklore, Perchta was said to roam the countryside in midwinter, entering homes during the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany. The official end of Yuletide in many traditions is January 6th, also known as Twelfth Night or Feast of the Epiphany. It was on this night especially, that Frau Perchta would come down from the forest and drop in for a visit.
Were the children and young servants of the household well-behaved? Has someone told a lie? Was the home kept clean? Was the spinning work complete? If not, watch out! Perchta would know. And she would come for you - slit a belly right open, remove the stomach and guts, and stuff the hole with straw and pebbles. She had particular concerns to see that girls had spun the whole of their allotted portion of flax or wool during the year. Children and young folk beware! Unkempt houses, unfinished work, and dishonest mouths meant your gruesome demise.
MODIFIED AND MODERN CELEBRATIONS
Records show that by at least the sixteenth century, young men had begun to dress up as spirits themselves to frighten off Frau Perchta and her gang. Wearing wooden masks, known as Schiachperchten, old rags, and ancient furs, these masked young men became known as the Perchten themselves. They roamed the countryside, attempting to scare off the real Perchten and ward off evil (Sheldon, 2017).
Despite the church’s attempts to get rid of Berchta, she lived on. Children would dress as demons (Perchten) during Yuletide. This was observed in some parts of Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. Some families would prepare a porridge called “Perchtenmilch.” Part of the porridge would be consumed by the family, with a portion set aside as an offering for Perchta and her Perchten.
Today, these rites of safeguarding and propitiation have become festive celebrations known as Raunachte or smoke nights, a great tourist draw in the Alpine regions. Young men still dress as the Perchten, with their masks and costumes representing the good and evil they bring. The horns, tusks, and teeth represent the Perchtens’ ability to tear at the souls of their victims. The cow or horsetail whips carried by these human Perchten are their gifts: ancient symbols of fertility or purification to bring hope for the coming year (Sheldon, 2017).
In the Pongau region of Austria large processions of Schönperchten ("beautiful Perchten") and Schiachperchten ("ugly Perchten") are held every winter. Beautiful masks are said to encourage financial windfalls, and the ugly masks are worn to drive away evil spirits.
The Church may have twisted their tale of terror but the spirit of Berchta remains. Whether it’s acknowledgement of the goddess, the White Lady, and her offerings of abundance, prosperity, and protection, or a darker, more macabre celebration of Perchta, counterpart of Krampus, Yuletide Belly-Slitter, her lore lives on. Through the Burning Times, through the test of time, despite the exhausting and oppressive efforts of the Church.
Stephanie
SOURCES: Frau Perchta, Witch of Twelfth Night by Christine Valentor, 2020 Ten Terrifying Christmas Customs and Legends From Around the World Will Give You Chills by Natasha Sheldon, 2017 The True History of the Witch Trials: What Sparked the Burning Times by Celeste Larsen, 2021 What is Frau Perchta? Goddess or Belly-Slitter? by Karen Ann, 2021