Looking for the full episode? Go to Teaching Mythology 015: Christmas Stories from Around the World
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[00:00:00] Welcome to teaching Mythology. And this is my first time. Trying video. So we’ll see how this goes. Now it is currently early December. And I wanted to do something different for the Christmas season and share. Christmas related stories from around the world. And talk about any gods or goddesses that are related to Christmas or winter or winter solstice. So. First, we’re gonna talk about. In Greek mythology, there’s a goddess name. Kiana. She is the daughter Borealis. She is the daughter of Boreus the God of the north wind. And she is known as the goddess of snow. Now. She is the daughter of Boreus. And. Uh, human. Uh, princess from a theme from Athens, she is the daughter of Boreus the God of the north wind and a princess from Athens. And. As she is raised, she is loved by Poseidon. And so of course, as we’ve talked about before, whenever the great gods love a human, of course, there’s a child. So she bears the child.
[00:01:37] So she bears the child and Malpass sorry if I said that wrong. And she’s so afraid of her father’s anger because Boreas was known to be temperamental changeable. Right. Which is very descriptive of the north wind. So she’s afraid of her father and his anger. And so she decides to cast the child into the sea. And Poseidon saves the child. And this child. And up.
[00:02:10] Having kind of a tragic. Death. In the course of kianase life. She is. Raped by Hermes. And Apollo comes to her the night of the rape and disguises himself as an old woman. Because he loves her so much and he comforts her. After this event. And because of these events in her life. Kioni is said to have bragged one day that she was. Better than Artemis because two gods fell in love with her. And meaning. Poseidon. And Apollo not Hermes. Right. And that no gods had ever fallen in love with Artemis. So Artemis was angered by this, right? Because again, Humans or demigods, pretending that they’re better than the gods or boasting that they’re better than God’s. As cost for punishment. So Artimus ended up shooting CUNY son. And Ima email purse.
[00:03:27] . Yeah. She ends up shooting. So Artimus ends up shooting him Opus. To show that.
[00:03:35] She’s better. She wanted to punish her.
[00:03:39] So. So let’s move on to Norse mythology. In Norse mythology, there is a goddess. Her name is Scotty, but actually she’s not. One of the easier gods. She’s actually a yacht. She’s from yacht, Manheim. Time, which you remembered, those are the race of giants. And remember Loki is also a young right. So. Y just like low-key she becomes part of the Azir. Pantheon of gods. So she is associated with winter and snow cold and darkness. Her homes and the mountains where the snow never melts. And she is known as the God of skiing. And a Huntress God. Right. She hunts with her bow and arrow. So she’s always depicted. In stories as. Wearing snow shoes or skis and carrying her bull. So.
[00:04:45] Her story starts in north mythology. When the giant theodicy is killed by the Gods. As they’re pursuing low-key. And. Scotty actually approaches the Azir gods. For vengeance. And in an attempt to placate her. They offered her a couple things. The first thing that they offered her was to put her father’s eyes into the sky. As stars. The second was that she could choose any husband from their kind. But she had to only look at their legs and feet when choosing this husband. So Scottie accepted this because she was in love with Baldor, the God of light. Right? So this is really interesting. It’s two opposite God. She’s the goddess of darkness and Baldor is the God of light. So she agrees to this deal thinking that she will be able to tell which gods. Legs and feet are Baldors.
[00:05:54] However she wasn’t successful. And she ends up choosing Nord. Which is the God of the sea. So. They go. And. Spend time at the sea and Scotty cannot take it. She says the screeching of the goals. Is too loud and the ocean is too vast. So then they go into the mountains where new board says. The howling of the wind is too loud and the mountains are too vast. So it said that they. Never consummated their marriage. They never have children and they decide to split. And so Scotty lives in the mountain, still New York lives. And the ocean.
[00:06:48] But. Scotty does end up getting vengeance in the end. And she is the one who in the punishment of Loki. Sets the venomous snake over his face and head the dangles down, poison that drips on Loki’s face for eternity. Well, until Ragnar rock, we should say. So. Scotty was a goddess who was worship. By the north people.
[00:07:17] And especially in the winter because their ability to hunt and get food for their family was because of Scotty’s benevolence.
[00:07:30] The last the last goddess I want to talk about is actually a Roman goddess. Her name is Tuna stroke, strenuous strain. Nu-uh. Hm.
[00:07:45] was the goddess of the new year. Purification and health. And is often portrayed with a snake, very similar to Hermes who has his snakes. And he is the God of health and medicine.
[00:08:02] So. On new year’s day in Rome. People would lay out branches of. Moral wreaths. That were gathered and then carry her shrine. Up to the Capitol hill. And this is where the highest point is in Rome.
[00:08:24] So this open space was where they performed rituals to receive the God’s approval.
[00:08:37] So as the engine, Romans would carry. These moral Leafs and the shrines up the hill. They were seeking her benefits in the new year. And it was a custom in this ceremony. To do this gift and tell eventually. Is the ceremony started changing and they would pass gifts between family and friends on the first day of the new year. As being symbolic. Of wishing for our praying, for this person to have good health or a good year. And traditionally these presents would have a twig of Laurel. And be tied with red yarn. Which we see, we still decorate presents to this day. Exactly like this. What’s interesting is that many people believe that the goddess Is actually the predecessor, the pre-court cursor to Bafana the witch. That. We see in.
[00:09:43] Later medieval times in Italy showing up. So let’s talk about Bafana. So. Bafana shows up. . At the feast of epiphany. Which is. January six. And before Anna. The way the story goes is that Bafana was an old woman. And when the three Wisemen. Passed by her house. To ask her if they knew where this, this newborn babe was. And she said, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if you want to spend the night, you can. So they spent the night and they asked her in the morning if she wanted to come with them on this journey. She says no at first. And then later on. Decides she wants to go. So she gathers presents for the new baby Jesus. And by the time she gathered, her presents. She couldn’t find the tracks of the tree Wisemen. They had their tracks had blown over in the snow. And so Bafana. Instead of going back to her house. She goes from house to house throughout Italy leaving presents for all the children. And This happens. On. Epiphany Eve, which is January 5th. Usually epiphany is on January 6th. So.
[00:11:12] This legend has changed in to kind of combine some of the Germanic legends that we’ll talk about in a minute. But.
[00:11:24] Part of these presents are that if you’re good, then you get a piece of candy and if you’re not good, then you get a lump of coal. Or if you’re in Siscily, you get a stick. So she’s also described as a witch because she is associated with a broom. And. Part of the broom image is that. She declined the three Wisemen. To going with them because she had so much. Housework to do right. She had to clean her whole house before she could leave. And this has become symbolic of sweeping out the old year. And all the old problems and bringing in. The new, and I think of it as spring cleaning. I don’t do spring cleaning personally. I do winter cleaning. And when I read this, I thought, oh, I’m like, Bafana, I’m sweeping out the old year, bringing in the new.
[00:12:22] So. In Italian fashion, you could say they always leave Bafana. Something to eat. And it might be wine over milk or regional specialties or cookie plate. Which is very similar to the modern. Idea of Christmas and Santa Claus, right. We leave out a plate of milk and cookies for Santa Claus.
[00:12:57] Now let’s head. Up a little bit more. Into the Basque area.
[00:13:05] And there is. Uh, bask Santa Claus called. Len sero, Len Xero. And just like,
[00:13:18] And just like Bafana, he has a lot of different stories surrounding him. So I’m going to tell two of the most common stories. So the first is that Olin Xero belong to this race of giants. And he, he lived peacefully. Until one day a cloud appeared in the sky. And it was only visible to one blind old man. Now the blind men interpreted this to mean that Jesus was going to be born soon. And the. We could not have giants on the earth with Jesus. So he asked all the giants, if they would just. Be thrown off a cliff, right? So he wouldn’t have to live with the giants. And the giants obliged. Which sounds a little crazy. I don’t know why that happened. And they all tripped and fell off this clipped cliff, except for Olin zero. And as the sole survivor. Of these giants. He embraced Christianity. And swiftly turned into this. Mary gift giver that he is today.
[00:14:28] And it’s interesting because when you think of Saint Nicholas or father Christmas, or even in. The Christmas Carol with Like the present day. We always picture a Santa Claus figure as being sort of larger than life. So that’s an interesting. Connection.
[00:14:49] Now the second most popular story with Olin Xero is that he was actually an abandoned newborn baby who was found by a ferry. And this ferry gave him super powers. And then adopted him out. So he grew to be a kind and gentle man. Until one day he died saving children from a burning home. And to honor his sacrifice. The fairy actually brought him back to life and gave him the job of giving gifts to children. And so. It’s. It’s pretty cool. This like gift giving. To children that seems to be fairly common throughout these stories.
[00:15:37] So let’s head over to. Bavaria. And in Bavaria. There’s a Christmas figure known as. Perched up. And. In early dramatic tribe. She was a goddess in the pagan Pantheon. From the upper German region of the Alps and she was considered the embodiment of fate. As well as the souls of the dead. So she has ties to. North goddesses, like forget and Freya. She has ties to the Greek fates. She’s often descripted. She’s often described as being a Weaver. So that idea of like a lifeline is, is still there. So. She was made sort of. Popular. Bye. One of the Grimm’s fairytales. So in all these different versions and I’ll go through. Naming a few of them. She, it can be either an old crone or young, beautiful maiden. And as she becomes part of this. Christmas lore. She would wander from home to home during Midwinter, which. Eventually became known as the 12 days of Christmas. And she knew. Who was a good worker that year and who wasn’t. And those who are good workers. Would receive a silver coin in their shoes. And those who didn’t. Got their bellies split open.
[00:17:21] Yeah. Then she would remove their intestines. And then S. Stuff.
[00:17:29] Stuff for children with pebbles and straw.
[00:17:36] Yuck. I mean, I guess that’s a one-way to keep. Kids doing their chores, but man, Well, So this sort of Christmas, which crone. Shows up throughout that area. So. In some region regions of Slovakia. She’s known as. Birched or
[00:18:02] Oh, I’m sorry. In some reasons of Swabia she’s known as or in Slovakia, she’s known as Foster.
[00:18:11] She’s also known. In the Eastern part of Germany, near Frankfurt as FRA hole or mother Holda. And. The brothers Graham of course, call her wits a wit the brothers Grimm of course, call her, which. And.
[00:18:34] In the Alpine regions she’s known as frown pets. or. Paramatta. She could be young, beautiful elderly, a hag in some of the stories she has one large foot. That’s actually a goose or a duck. But it’s in all of these regions, it’s the same thing. This woman visits their home during the 12 days of Christmas. If they’re good, they get silver or a coin. Or. Something nice. If they’re not good. Then she T she splits them up and takes out their insights and stuff. Some with straw, right. Yeah. So in the middle ages, women would leave food out for her as well. And Now they still believe out like a bullet porridge, right? So in the Alpine regions of. In the Alpine regions, people will still dress up as her. And do like a procession ringing bells in mid-winter through apifany. And they will have carnival like parades for her as well. So.
[00:19:52] Now we’re going to head back down.
[00:19:56] To Greece. So now we’re going to head up to Wales. And I’m going to apologize right now. I cannot read Welch. And so I’m not quite sure how to say any of these names. And I could not find. A translator or. Uh, pronunciation guide. For them. But I wanted to tell this tradition because it is Christmas caroling. So. In between Christmas and new years? Well, two men. And this is so weird to me. Well, two men ride a dead horse around town and sing. And they call it their Wessling adventures. So they dress up a horse skull with glass eyes and stick a pole into the jaw. And put a great close. Like cloak over it. To make it into a horse figure. Called the gray mirror. And when. So it’s so weird. So I picture like just the bones. And they have a stick in the front, kind of like a carnival. And then the coat down the back. So that’s kind of how I pictured it. So they would take this green mirror throughout town and whenever they would arrive at a bar or a house. That they would like a drink at, they would sing songs in order to enter. And then the people inside are supposed to decline the request. And a counter song is proposed. And then they are led in. And. That is when this. Party begins where the gray mayor group. Insults. The party goers and rhyme. And then the party go goers re like, Respond back in rhyme. Insulting the gray mirror group. This goes on. Until one group is bested and then everybody drinks and then they move on to the next house. And insults and Sue. So it’s a little bit of a difference. To Christmas Carolyn today, but because they call it a wassailing adventure. And I think about the S. The Christmas song. Here we go. Loss selling. And this tradition now that when carolers come up to the house, they sing for you. And then you’re expected to give them treats cookies, hot chocolate, whatever you have. And so it comes from Wells.
[00:22:44] The last.
[00:22:46] So let’s head back down to Greece. And learn about. Nicola’s the wonder worker.
[00:22:55] So. In the first century in Greece. Uh, Christian Saint, well, he’s a Saint now. The time he was Bishop Nico loss of Mira.
[00:23:06] Which is currently in modern day Turkey. So he is known for. Being a gift giver. He would please shoot. Uh, place coins and shoes that were left out. Right. Sound familiar. And then When. So he is known for secret gift giving. And one of the things he’s most known for is placing coins in shoes that were left out around town. Sound familiar. So, but what ended up happening is that when his parents died, they were very wealthy. He decided to obey Jesus’s instructions in the Bible, which say to sell everything you own and give it to the poor. So he gave away his entire inheritance. And made that his life motto to give everything to the poor.
[00:23:59] So he became the patron Saint of beggars students, sailors merchants. Repentant thieves children. He’s also. Known that at one point in time, he overheard. Uh, father say that he didn’t have enough money for dowries for his children, for his daughters. And so that would mean that they could never be married. Or they would have to prostitute themselves. And so St. Nicholas St. Nikolaos. Took it upon himself to secretly leave three purses full of gold coins in their home rather than humiliating. The father with charity.
[00:24:46] So.
[00:24:49] Now let’s come over onto our side of the pond, I should say, or over into the Americas. And let’s talk about. The.
[00:25:08] So let’s come over to the Americas and talk about. One of the ancient. Well, it’s not ancient. Let’s come over. To our.
[00:25:21] Let’s come over to the Americas and talk about. One of the indigenous peoples. Winter solstice traditions. So we’re going to talk about sale, which is the winter solstice of the Hopi people in Northern Arizona. So the Hopi have lived in Northern Arizona for over a thousand years. And one of their most important ceremonies is that of soil, which is their winter solstice celebration. So. The Hopi people believe that during this time the Katrinas or the spirits that watch over the Hopi come down from the mountains and they specifically mean. The California mountains. And they bring the sun back into the world. Right? So you imagine the winter solstice is the shortest day of the year and they do the ceremony and every day. There’s more and more sunlight.
[00:26:20] This is also a time where the Katrinas would come and leave. Gifts. For there. The Katrina’s would come down and leave gifts for the children. So this ceremony in this time, period is a time for purification. And prayer. And that everything that happens the next year is arranged at the soil ceremonies. So. They’re very private about this ceremony. They perform these ceremonies down in the Kivas which are like underground public. Meeting areas. And so we do know that there’s dancing and singing and the giving of gifts and storytelling. And this ceremony can last. So this ceremony is the longest ceremony. That the Hopi people have, and it lasts 16 days. And all of these sacred rituals are performed. And it’s an important time for the people because the elders passed down these stories to children and teach them. Incredible lessons
[00:27:29] And the last story I want to tell is about Krampus. The anti. Anti. So the last story I want to tell is about Krampus, the anti Santa Claus. Now. I know that there’s a movie out there. I’ve never seen it. But he is a real figure. In the Germanic world. And Eastern Europe. So this history starts around the 16 hundreds. And he’s actually thought to be a companion of Santa Claus. And kind of the opposite of him, right. Santa Claus leaves gifts for students who are good or Santa Claus, these gifts for children who are good. And Krampus leaves punishments for student. And Krampus moves punishments for children who are naughty. So.
[00:28:24] He is described as having Devilfish horns. Interesting. Because. They often in the 16 hundreds, they described Satan as having horns. And Santa Claus and the gift giving. Is really symbolic of Jesus Christ. And so this has this real kind of Christian overtone to it. But he has his own night. December 5th. Which is the night before December six, which is the festival of Saint Nicholas that starts off the Eastern European holiday season. So. Not only is Krampus horned, but he’s known for being incredibly. Violent. So what he would do is he would go from house to house. And hunt down naughty children and he would throw them all into a sack. And take them all down to the underworld. Now it said that he has a weakness for schnapps. So you can offer him schnapps as a bribe. So that he wouldn’t take your children. So. And in return, he would give you Cole.
[00:29:54] I lied Krampus. Wasn’t the last one. I want to talk about Grella she’s also scary. She’s kind of this. Anti Christmas figure. But still has real ties to the tradition. So she is. Uh, Scandinavian giant or an ogress and, or sometimes she’s described as a troll with. Many tales and hooves for feet, and she has a hunger for human flesh. Her favorite meal? Not too little children. So in fact, she makes a seasonal trip down her mountain on Christmas Eve. To collect all the little naughty children for herself. She is also the mother of the UL lads. Who are a little trolls who play pranks, leading up to Christmas. And they appear each day. As sort of a countdown to the big day. And I. I think about this. And I think about elf on the shelf. And how. Elf on the shelf does naughty things throughout the home, or he’s watching the children. And it was totally for me a call back to these UL loud lads. I personally find elf on the shelf. A little creepy. And don’t participate in it. But I know a lot of people do and they make it really fun for their kids. So. The other sort of. Thing that’s associated with gride LA. Is this you all cat. And I can’t even begin to say his name. So I won’t. But this cat is known as a fearsome cat. Who stocks the countryside on Christmas Eve and devours. Those who didn’t receive new clothing to wear for the holiday. Now that sounds a little weird. But what it really is is.
[00:31:59] Uh, reinforcement or a way of Stopping people from being lazy. So. Seamstresses would work extra hard to make sure that there was enough new clothing so that no one would be eaten by the yield cat. And farmers would work extra hard to make sure. That they could have all of their work done by the holiday. So that they could be gifted these new clothes and they would be safe. So it’s really about. Encouraging. Hard work. Encouraging giving. It giving to those who are less fortunate. Those sorts of things, which is sort of a callback to. So this is sort of a callback to paired stuff, the Bavarian Christmas, which.
[00:32:48] . So. I think about. Like all of these. Myths surrounding new year. And how important a time it is. And of course.
[00:33:05] I know that our modern traditions have.
[00:33:11] Changed.
[00:33:14] These ancient stories and these ancient folktales and these ancient traditions. But. It’s important. I think to know that everything that we do today or have in this winter season, Comes from ancient storytelling. Which is exactly what mythology is. It’s ancient storytelling. Passed down from generation to generation. So I’m really grounded and rooted in the fact that.
[00:33:48] Some of these traditions that we still do today. And even if it’s in like a very minuscule form, Have been performed. For a hundreds or even thousands of years. So I hope you have a very happy holiday season. And that you have time to spend with your family and friends and can rest and refresh for the new year.
[00:34:16] Bye.
