Wild Men and Women of Winter

                                                              Winter gone WILD!   ❄️❄️❄️

                                           The Wild Men of Europe ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

                        It’s a wild white wonderland ❄️ In wintertime 

                                 Who knows who, or what you might meet!

                          Indeed, ungrateful urchins shall soon find themselves stuffed within the Krampus Sack!

…And perhaps taken to Iceland, there to meet the fanged justice of the terrible Yule Cat!

       

Men and women gone wild…this time of year all over the land, something about the change of seasons, of the Solstice, light and dark, a liminal time betwixt and between…man and beast, or thing….❄️❄️❄️

But we need not venture far, to find tales of The Wild and men who become so…in Pennsylvania, and into the hill country, as far north as Nova Scotia, you will hear whispers of The Belsnickle…..

Sometimes referred to as Peltschnickle, as he is sometimes clad in furs or animal pelts.

He would tap on the windows and doors with sticks before entering. Once inside the house, he would ask whether or not the children had been good that year.

If the children had been naughty, he would threaten to hit them with the switches — or sticks — that he carried with him. But for the good kids, they could expect some small treats like nuts, fruits or candies.

To hear the tale told by famous folklorist Timothy Renner, click on link.

https://www.strangefamiliars.com/home/belsnickel-the-christmas-wild-man

Santa Lucia, her head aflame in the night!

And we also have Italy to thank for Belfana, the Christmas Witch!

Christmas before Christ: A beauteous and fascinating tale of how folk celebrated Yule and the Solstice.

Horns are popular with a wild magical childe.