Witches of Yule and Winter

Here are the witches, good and bad, who make a return during the season of Yule and winter, associated with the periods of Christmas and New Year. 

La Befana, from Italian folklore about a witch who delivers presents to children on the eve of the Feast of Epiphany. She goes to every child's home in Italy and fills socks with sweets, toys, gifts and other pleasant surprises only if they've been well behaved. If they've been bad, she'll live a lump of coal, a stick or rock candy instead. While there at the house, she may sweep the floor with her broomstick, which is itself magical and what she uses to travel around on. Some families leave out a glass of wine a plate of food for La Befana so that she'll be welcome to it when she arrives. Depicted as a smiling kind old woman covered in dark soot from the chimneys she uses to climb in and out, she also carries a large sack full of goodies. This pleasant Yule witch is featured in Winter Solstice Befana choirs during the Festival of Lights parade in Canada. In Russia there's a similar witch named Babushka. 

Frau Perchta is less friendly. She's a scary Christmas witch from the folklore beliefs in Alpine regions such as Switzerland, Germany and Austria. She's described as an old crone dressed in rags with a nose made of iron, but she's obsessed with cleanliness and spinning. Once the season of Christmas was over, women were expected to complete all of the spun flax, chores and prepared a bowl of porridge for her, by the twelfth night, or 6th January, otherwise she will become very cross. Everyone feared the anger of Frau Perchta as the punishment would be terrible. She would sneak into the house while they sleep, disembowel them and fill their empty guts with rubbish, stones and straw. She doesn't only check your house, but participates in a frightening Wild Hunt, accompanied by demons named Perchten, who are sinister and also nightmarish. She's not only considered a hideous evil witch but also a beautiful snow queen who shapeshifts into animals as there seems two different sides of her.  

She Wolf Night