The Dead of Winter:
The Demons, Witches and Ghosts of Christmas
by Sarah Clegg
Christmas is a feast that has managed to reinvent itself through time. It is, of course, one of the key dates in the Christian calendar, a celebration of the birth of Jesus. However, Christian celebrations and customs have also absorbed other, darker, traditions related to secular or pagan winter festivals. Thus, alongside the fairy lights and carols of peace and good cheer, Christmas is also a time of year associated with ghosts, spirits and tales of horror. Throughout Europe – from the dark, cold climes of the North, to the warmer coasts of the Mediterranean – there are surprisingly similar traditions of witches and monsters which make their appearance at Christmas, sometimes, as in the case of the Krampus, alongside more specifically Christian figures such as St Nicholas and St Lucy. (Incidentally, even tiny Malta has its own Christmas monster, the Gawgaw: you can read a scholarly article about this here).
Folklorists up to the 20th Century tended to explain this as a survival of pre-Christian pagan traditions. The history behind the more ghoulish aspects of wintertide, however, is much more complex and nuanced. It is explored in Sarah Clegg’s excellent The Dead of Winter – The Demons, Witches and Ghosts of Christmas. Clegg does not limit herself to the obvious characters (for instance the Krampus) but also brings into the mix other dark figures such as the Nordic “Grýla” and the Welsh “Mari Lwyd” (the grinning equine monster whose popularity is resurging). Clegg also examines traditions such as mummers plays, wassailing and Stonehenge dawn rituals. She traces the origins of some of these festivals to the Roman Saturnalia and carnival celebrations of Late Antiquity, although she also points out that some “traditions” are, on the other hand, relatively recent despite their claims to ancient roots.
This book could easily have turned into a dry academic tome. However,
Clegg wears her deep knowledge of the subject lightly. I enjoyed her approach, where
facts are presented alongside the author’s personal experiences of winter celebrations
ranging from a masked ball in Venice at Carnival, to a “Krampus Run” in
Salzburg. Some segments of the book read like an uncanny travelogue. Clegg’s
humorous observations (usually in witty footnotes) provide a diverting
counterpoint to the book’s dark subject. Truly an ideal book for long Winter nights…
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