☕️ Alice’s Mad Tea Party Presents:
🍵 Alice Spills the Tea: Frau Perchta Is Watching
Come closer, my festive little myth lovers.
If you think Christmas has always been about ribbons, cookies, and pretending your relatives are tolerable, allow me to gently correct you. Winter used to belong to someone far less forgiving.
Her name was Frau Perchta.
Before she was turned into a nursery threat and then quietly swept under the holly rug, Perchta ruled the Twelve Nights. The dark stretch between the old year and the new. A time when spinning wheels paused, spirits roamed, and the world held its breath.
Perchta was not naughty or nice. She was order.
She walked the villages in white robes that shimmered like frost, or sometimes in rags that smelled of smoke and snow. One foot was said to be webbed or goose-like, a reminder that she belonged to older worlds. She watched who worked honestly, who kept their word, who respected the rhythm of winter.
And those who did not?
Ah.
Perchta did not scold. She corrected.
The lazy, the deceitful, the ones who broke sacred winter rules were said to be punished in the most unforgettable way. Their bellies slit open and stuffed with straw, stones, or ash. Clean work. Symbolic. Very memorable.
Yes, darlings. Christmas cheer has deep roots.
But Perchta was not all terror. She rewarded diligence. Left silver coins for children. Blessed homes where spinning was finished before the Twelve Nights. Protected travelers and mothers. She was a judge, not a monster, though history has a habit of calling powerful women inconvenient things.
Eventually, as the world softened its edges, Perchta was folded into other figures. Pieces of her stitched into winter witches, night hags, and yes, even Santa’s shadowy companions. Her lessons were dulled. Her blade hidden beneath tinsel.
But make no mistake.
On the coldest nights, when bells sound too hollow and snow falls without wind, Perchta still walks. Counting. Watching. Measuring effort, not smiles.
So if you feel an odd pressure this season to finish your work, keep your promises, and not lie to yourself, do not panic.
That is not guilt.
That is tradition.
Alice
Queen of Ink & Lore
Winter Myth Curator
Very Much On Perchta’s Good Side ☕️❄️🕯️
Editorial Note from Pip:
Alice exaggerated the belly-stuffing frequency. Frau Perchta was selective, not reckless. Also, the silver coin tradition varied by region, and no credible sources confirm Alice has ever met Perchta personally, despite her claims. Further fact-checking ongoing.
