The Naughty List and the History of That Dreaded Lump of Coal

by Kathleen L. Maher

Last year, I wrote about the legend of Santa Claus and its ties to my home state of New York. This year, I'm taking a departure South, that is to say, the South Pole, to explore the legends of Santa's controversial helpers for those designated to the Naughty List.

Black Pete
Last year I explored the early Dutch legend of Sinterklaas, the saintly night visitor who left treats for the good children in their shoes and stockings. These treats might be toys, fruit, nuts, candy, or even money. But Sinterklaas had a counterpart named Zwarte Piet, or Black Peter. He first appeared in a story in 1850 by schoolteacher Jan Schenkman, but the legend precedes this. Some say this Moorish Spaniard character dressed in Renaissance clothing has its roots as far back as the myth of Odin and his raven helpers Huginn and Muninn. When Odin leads the Wild Hunt, according to the legend, these figures would perch at the chimney and listen in on the mortals below, to report on the good and bad. And so it seems, Black Pete served a parallel role for Sinterklaas.

You wouldn't want to merit a visit from Black Pete at Christmastime. That would mean you were one of the bad children, undeserving of gifts. Instead, it is said Black Pete would leave a dirty lump of charcoal from the fireplace. Or a bundle of birch twigs called a "roe", implying you were due for a "Birching." Yikes! 

Krampus

If you thought Black Pete was scary, this figure would surely terrify you into being a good little child. In Germany, the benevolent figure of Saint Nicholas apparently wasn't enough incentive for kinderlings to finish their homework, clean their room, say their prayers and brush their teeth. For sass-talkers, slackers and rebels, the naughty list takes a nightmarish twist with the legend of Krampus. 

For starters, Krampus was half goat, and half demon. He is the Norse mythology son of Hel. The German word for claw, krampen, describes one of this creature's main attributes. On the night before St. Nicholas Day, Dec 6, or Krampusnacht, a naughty child would be lucky to get a lump of coal in his stocking, or even a whipping with a birch stick. Other versions are more nefarious, and I will leave them from this fun blog post. Shudder!

The pagan legend of Krampus was strictly forbidden by the Catholic Church, but some scholars believe these anti-St. Nicholas figures were created partly to ease the Saint's reputation as the bad guy. Who wants to celebrate a Santa that doles out fear and punishment for Christmas, anyway? 


La Befana
In Italy, the Santa Claus figure was actually an old woman who flew on a broomstick. La Befana wouldfly form house to house and sneak down the fireplace to leave either good gifts for nice children or lumps of coal for the bad. Possibly named for the Feast Day Eve on which she visits, La Festa dell'Epifania, she comes the night of January 5. 

Her legend, though to our modern ears sounding like a Halloween witch, is actually rather sweet. As the story goes, when the Magi left to follow the star to see the King who had been born, many set out to meet them to offer gifts to the baby. Befana was too busy with housework, and stayed behind sweeping. But the next day, after realizing she missed the Three Wise Men, she tried to hurry to catch up so she might give her gifts. She never did catch up to the Magi, so Befana spends every year circling with her broom and distributing her gifts to good children since she couldn't give them to the Christ child. But to the naughty boys and girls she brings cinders, onions and garlic. Blech! I'd rather have chocolate.

These legends were interesting to me as I researched a bit about them. I'm really glad we no longer scare our children with witches, goblins and ghosts at Christmastime. The real story of Jesus, who was born to save us from our sins, is so much more uplifting. I know I haven't always been a perfect angel, either as a child or as an adult. So I'm doubly grateful for the grace and hope that Jesus' birth brings.

With His true story in mind, I wish you all a

Joyeux Noël      Frohe Weinachten      Feliz Navidad         Buon Natale

Feliz Natal            Vrolijk kerstfeest

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Kathleen L. Maher has had an infatuation with books and fictional heroes ever since her preschool crush, Peter Rabbit. She is one of nine authors in Barbour's 2018 Victorian Christmas Brides Collection, and her story features her hometown of Elmira, New York. Her debut historical, Bachelor Buttons, blends her Irish heritage and love of the American Civil War. She won the 2012 ACFW Genesis contest for her Civil War story, released this summer under a new title The Abolitionist’s Daughter. Kathleen shares an old farmhouse in upstate New York with her husband, children, and a small zoo of rescued animals.

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Legend of Mistletoe

Ah, mistletoe. It’s the sprig under which couples kiss at Christmas.

 










Ironically, mistletoe isn’t a plant but a parasite. It only grows in trees, but is known in more countries than America. It likes to grow on oak, willow, and apple trees, and it’s been around since the times of the ancient Druids who believed mistletoe to be a gift falling from heaven.

Mistletoe was said to have mystical powers of healing, good luck, and warding off evil spirits. It is also believed to have originated in Norse mythology as the sign of love and friendship. They’re the ones who supposedly are the origin for kissing under the mistletoe, but England is also given credit for that tradition. Originally, the custom was to pick off one berry for each kiss and when all the berries were gone, the kissing ended. However, most believe it originated in pre-Christian Europe because mistletoe was thought to have life bestowing qualities and aided in fertility.

This plant/parasite is evident in Norse mythology, but the Romans are said to have also used it in their Saturnalia festival in mid-December. In Scandinavia, the goddess of love Frigga is most closely associated with mistletoe in regards to her son, Baldur, god of the summer sun.

The legend says that Baldur dreamed of his death and told Frigga about it. As a mother, she became greatly alarmed because if he died, not only would she lose a SON, but the earth would be plunged into darkness through loss of the SUN. Frigga went into action and had all the elements of air, fire, water, and earth along with animals and plants vow to never bring harm to Baldur. However, Balder had an enemy unbeknownst to Frigga. The god of evil, Loki knew of one plant Frigga had overlooked. He used that plant, mistletoe, made an arrow with a tip made from mistletoe he had gathered and gave it to the blind god of winter, Hodor. Not knowing what he was doing, he shot an arrow that hit Baldur and killed him. The earth darkened and all mourned Baldur. However, Baldur was miraculously brought back to life.

In her joy, Frigga’s tears fell on the mistletoe plant to create its white berries. Now the plant no longer represented evil and became a symbol of love and peace. Frigga kissed everyone who passed beneath the tree on which it grew. The story ends with a decree that who should ever stand under the humble mistletoe should not receive harm but a kiss as a token of love.

At first, the use of mistletoe for decorations in churches was banned by Christians even though many still used it. It eventually made its way from paganism to Christmas in celebration of renewal and emergence into the “light.” 

From the days of myths and lore to modern times, we find kissing under the mistletoe to still be a custom.

In a less romantic light, we find the meaning and origin of the word. Mistletoe is derived from the Anglo Saxon words ‘Mistel’ which means dung, and ‘tan’ which means stick. So the meaning might be said as ‘poo on a stick.’ Not very romantic is it? Mistletoe is then spread on trees through bird poo. It attaches itself to the host, a tree, and grows on a branch.

It’s berries and leaves were once considered to be very poisonous to humans, but recent research has declared it not to be so. It's still a good idea to be cautious with live mistletoe and the juice from the berries. However, it is a great source of food for many animals and birds. Bees also get pollen from the mistletoe.

Have you ever been kissed under the mistletoe? 
Comment below and be in a drawing for a copy of my Christmas novel: Christmas at Stoney Creek

News reporter Tom Whiteman befriends a homeless man, Joe, and brings him home to Stoney Creek. Tom’s journalistic instincts suggest there’s more to the old man than appearances tell. A carpenter by trade, Joe works at odd jobs around town and makesmany new friends including Faith Delmont, a girl who grew up with Tom. Contradictions in the man’s manners and way of speaking whet Tom’s nose for news and raises even more questions. As he and Faith seek the truth, they learn that God’s love can turn tragedy and loss to triumph and true love comes to those who seek it.  


  

Martha Rogers is a free-lance writer and multi-published author from Realms Fiction of Charisma Media and Winged Publications. She was named Writer of the Year at the Texas Christian Writers Conference in 2009. She is a member of ACFW and writes the weekly Verse of the Week for the ACFW Loop. ACFW awarded her the Volunteer of the Year in 2014. Her first electronic series from Winged Publications, Love in the Bayou City of Texas, debuted in the spring of 2015.  Martha is a frequent speaker for writing workshops and the Texas Christian Writers Conference. She is a retired teacher and lives in Houston with her husband, Rex. Their favorite pastime is spending time with their eleven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.