Frau Holle

In some Scandinavian traditions, Frau Holle is known as the feminine spirit of the woods and plants, and was honored as the sacred embodiment of the earth and land itself. She is associated with many of the evergreen plants that appear during the Yule season, especially mistletoe and holly, and is sometimes seen as an aspect of Frigga, wife of Odin.

Frau Holle is associated with fertility and rebirth. Her feast day is December 25, and typically, she is seen as a goddess of hearth and home.

In the Norse Eddas, she is described as Hlodyn, and she gives gifts to women at the time of the Winter Solstice, or Jul.

She is sometimes associated with winter snowfall as well; it is said that when Frau Holle shakes out her mattresses, white feathers fall to the earth. A feast is held in her honor each winter by many people in the Germanic countries.

❄️ A number of scholars have pointed out that Frau Holle evolved from an earlier, pre-Christian deity, known as Hulda (alternately, Holle or Holla), who predates even the Norse pantheon. She appears as an old woman, associated with the darkness of winter, and watches over children in the coldest months. She is tied to the cycle of death and eventual rebirth, as new life springs forth.

If you’d like to celebrate the spirit of winter by honoring Frau Holle, it’s a good time to focus on domestic crafts as part of ritual. 

- words by @pattiwigington via learnreligions.com