It is that time of year when we settle down with a glass of mulled wine and our thoughts turn to all things Christmas. While we all enjoy the merriment and the baubles, trimmings and greenery of the Christmas tree, there is a side to the season that can easily bring a sudden chill. In several cultures in the northern hemisphere, the yuletide winter solstice has brought considerable trepidation. For centuries, communities throughout Europe were mainly rural and thus at the mercy of nature, so it isn’t surprising that people felt themselves to be the governed by supernatural forces. In Iceland at this time of year, when daylight only lasts around four to five hours, the medieval Icelanders believed it was a time when ghosts would roam the land. One Iceland saga called the Eyrbyggja includes the story of a farmer who invites his neighbours to a Christmas feast, only to have ghosts accompany them. He advises them to shake the mud off of their clothes and spray the other guests with it. Those who try to stop them fall sick and die. Then there is the gnome-like mythological creature called the Nisse, in southern Sweden, Norway and Denmark, or the Tomte in Sweden. Farmers often place bowls of rice porridge on their doorsteps to placate these short, white-bearded sprites. If they are treated well, they protect the family and animals from evil and misfortune. However, if they are insulted they can steal items, maim or even kill. In 1812, a book by Washington Irving probably invented the idea of St Nicholas rattling down the chimney, but before then, household hearths were visited by spirits. Often the norse god Odin would enter the home through the chimney at winter solstice. In England, a bull’s heart was often pierced with iron nails and thorns and hung up inside the chimney, in order to punish witches. In Italian folklore there is a witch named Befana, who also takes the chimney route in order to deliver gifts on Epiphany eve. She is portrayed as riding a broomstick and (understandably) covered in soot. Children often leave a small glass of wine and food out for her. If the children are good they get rewarded with candy – or a lump of coal if they are bad. Norwegians have a belief that witches come out on Christmas Eve riding on brooms. So they hide all the brooms in the household before they go to sleep. The threatening and bribing of children to encourage good behaviour at Christmas has a long heritage. Krampus is a terrifying figure from Austria-Bavarian folklore. He is hairy, usually brown or black, with cloven hooves and the horns of a goat. His name is thought to derive from the german word “krampen”, which means “claw”. He carries birch branches to beat naughty children and, with particularly recalcitrant ones, eats them or takes them to hell. Back in Iceland there is Grýla the Christmas witch, a female giant with an appetite for the flesh of mischievous children. She owns a huge, vicious cat, who eats people who have not received new clothes for Christmas (as if they didn’t have enough problems) – a myth that sprung from the tradition of giving new clothes to those who finished all their chores by Christmas. Iceland’s Yule Lads are a group of 13 pranksters that take turns to visit children on the 13 nights leading up to Christmas. Rather than a stocking, children place a shoe in their bedroom window. The good children get sweets and the bad ones a rotting potato. One of the most evocative Christmas folk tales comes from western Ukraine. It is believed there once was a poor widow living with her children. One day she noticed a pine cone had dropped from a branch and taken root in their home. The tree started to grow and the family tended to it but they could not afford Christmas ornaments to decorate it. The legend goes that some spiders heard their sobs and created beautiful webs on the tree, much to the amazement of the family. Now, many Ukrainians will not sweep away spider webs, especially during the Christmas period, as it is said to bring good fortune for the new year.