The central and eastern

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...

of Europe are rich in

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

traditions dating back to pre-Christian times, with surviving elements originating from Germanic,

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

(

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

), Slavic ( Carantanian) and

Raetian Rhaetic or Raetic (), also known as Rhaetian, was a language spoken in the ancient region of Rhaetia in the eastern Alps in pre-Roman and Roman times. It is documented by around 280 texts dated from the 5th up until the 1st century BC, which were ...

culture.

Survival through the ages

Ancient customs survived in the

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

parts of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, Switzerland,

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

, western and northern

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

and north eastern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in the form of dance,

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

, processions,

rituals A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

and games. The high regional diversity results from the mutual isolation of Alpine communities. In the Alps, the relationship between the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and paganism has been an ambivalent one. While some customs survived only in the remote

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

s inaccessible to the church's influence, other customs were actively assimilated over the centuries. In light of the dwindling rural population of the Alps, many customs have evolved into more modern interpretations.

Pastoral traditions

Around September 8, the feast of the Nativity of Mary, it is customary to bring the cattle down from the

upland pasture Upland pasture (rough grazing and/or semi-natural rough grazing) is a type of semi-natural grassland located in uplands of rolling foothills or upon higher slopes, greater than 350 meters (1148.29 feet) and less than 600 meters (1968.50 feet) from ...

s for the winter. In Bavaria, women weave fir wreaths decorated with paper roses and small mirrors to ward off demons during the downhill journey. It has been suggested that this derives from end-of-summer festivals in honor of the Germanic goddess

Iðunn In Norse mythology, Iðunn is a goddess associated with apples and youth. Iðunn is attested in the ''Poetic Edda'', compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the ''Prose Edda'', written in the 13th century by Snorri St ...

Winter traditions

Krampus

The word ''Krampus'' originates from the

Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

word for

claw A claw is a curved, pointed appendage found at the end of a toe or finger in most amniotes (mammals, reptiles, birds). Some invertebrates such as beetles and spiders have somewhat similar fine, hooked structures at the end of the leg or tarsus ...

(''Krampen''). In the Alpine regions, the Krampus is a mythical horned figure represented as accompanying Saint Nicholas. Krampus acts as an anti–Saint Nicholas, who, instead of giving gifts to good children, gives warnings and punishments to the bad children. Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, particularly in the evening of December 5, and roam the streets frightening children and women with rusty chains, hammers and bells. This figure is believed to originate from stories of house spirits such as

kobolds A kobold (occasionally cobold) is a mythical sprite. Having spread into Europe with various spellings including "goblin" and "hobgoblin", and later taking root and stemming from Germanic mythology, the concept survived into modern times in Ger ...

elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes " ...

Perchten

Originally, the word ''Perchten'' (plural of ''Perchta'') referred to the female masks representing the entourage of an ancient goddess, ''Frau Perchta'', or ''Pehta Baba'' as it is known in Slovenia. Some claim a connection to the Nordic goddess

Freyja In Norse paganism, Freyja (Old Norse "(the) Lady") is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr (magic for seeing and influencing the future). Freyja is the owner of the necklace Brísingamen, rides a chario ...

, though this is uncertain. Traditionally, the masks were displayed in processions (''Perchtenlauf'') during the last week of December and first week of January, and particularly on January 6. The costume consists of a brown wooden mask and brown or white sheep's skin. In recent times Krampus and Perchten have increasingly been displayed in a single event, leading to a loss of distinction of the two. Perchten are associated with midwinter and the embodiment of

fate Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...

and the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

s of the dead. The name originates from the Old High German word ''peraht'' ("brilliant" or "bright"). Sometimes, '' der Teufel'' is viewed to be the most ''schiach'' ("ugly") Percht (masculine singular of ''Perchten'') and '' Frau Perchta'' to be the most ''schön'' ("beautiful") Perchtin (female singular of ''Perchten'').

Spring traditions

Chalandamarz is an ancient festival celebrated by the Romansh speaking part of the Swiss Canton Graubünden. It is celebrated on the first of March and marks the end of winter and the arrival of spring. Its object is to scare away the evil spirits of winter and wake up the good spirits of spring.

Badalisc

The

Badalisc __NOTOC__ The Badalisc (also Badalisk) is a mythical creature of the Val Camonica, Italy, in the southern central Alps. The Badalisc is represented today as a creature with a big head covered with a goat skin, two small horns, a huge mouth and glo ...

is a "good" mythological animal who lives in the woods of Andrista, in

Val Camonica Val Camonica (also ''Valcamonica'' or Camonica Valley, Eastern Lombard dialect, Eastern Lombard: ''Al Camònega'') is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to ...

. During an annual town festival someone dresses up as the creature and is "captured" and brought to the town. The animal is made to tell the people of the town gossip. At the end of the festival the creature is released until the next year's ceremony.ADL ©Atlante Demologico Lombardo: Il Bresciano - Festa del Badalisc ad Andrista di Cevo
/ref>

Gallery

File:Krampus Salzburg 5.jpg, Krampus File:Krampus Morzger Pass Salzburg 2008 04.jpg, Krampus, Salzburg 2008 Image:Perchten4.jpg, Procession in

Klagenfurt Klagenfurt am WörtherseeLandesgesetzblatt 2008 vom 16. Jänner 2008, Stück 1, Nr. 1: ''Gesetz vom 25. Oktober 2007, mit dem die Kärntner Landesverfassung und das Klagenfurter Stadtrecht 1998 geändert werden.'/ref> (; ; sl, Celovec), usually ...

Image:Maschera del Badalisc - Andrista - Cevo (Foto Luca Giarelli).jpg, The Badalisc in

Image:Perchtenlauf2009.jpg, Procession in

Leibnitz Leibnitz (Slovenian: ''Lipnica'') is a city in the Austrian state of Styria and on 1 Jan. 2017 had a population of 12,176. It is located to the south of the city of Graz, between the Mur and Sulm rivers. The town is the capital of the Leibni ...

(

) File:Bacchu-ber 2003.jpg, The Bacchu-ber, a

sword dance Sword dances are recorded throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock-battle (Pyrrhic) sword dances from Africa, Asia and Europe. General types of sword dance include: *solo dancers around swords – such as t ...

, in Pont-de-Cervières (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

)

References

*''Wenn die Hexen umgehen'', Claudia Lagler, 5 January 1999
Die Presse
(newspaper), (in German)

External links

Swiss neopagan site focussing on pre-Christian Alpine traditions

an

on Sagen.at {{DEFAULTSORT:Pre-Christian Alpine Traditions Alpine folklore German folklore Germanic paganism Paganism in Europe Religion in Austria Christian folklore Swiss folklore Winter traditions Ritual animal disguise Slavic paganism