Fun Winter Folklore According to the Farmers’ Almanac
By: Jennifer Mittler-Lee
Tags: Stories, Life, Culture, Folklore, Winter

From Jack Frost to the height of wasp’s nests, here’s what our ancestors believed about winter

Image/ Free-Photos/ Pixabay

Nature’s signs of a hard winter ahead

Before modern weather forecasting tools, our ancestors relied on natural signs to predict how bad the upcoming winter would be. For example, if your corn or onions grew thicker than normal husks, you were in for a bad winter.

Birds were particularly good at predicting the weather. Woodpeckers sharing a tree, the early arrival of the snowy owl, and an early departure of geese and ducks were all signs of a hard winter.

Insects also had an uncanny ability to tell the future. If monarch butterflies migrated early or spiders spun larger than normal webs, this warned of a bad winter coming. Another interesting observation involved wasps. If wasps built their nests higher up than normal, it meant a long and snowy winter.

Image/ Stefan Kellar/Pixabay

Jack Frost

This mischievous elf is best known for nipping at our noses in the holiday tune, The Christmas Song, but where did this creation come from?

The current theory is that Jack Frost is a softer version of the Norse frost giant Jokul Frosti. As the embodiment of all things icy, this fearsome titan whipped up the awe-inspiring winter storms that pummeled the Scandinavian countries. Folks would huddle in their dwellings safe from the raging winds and snow outside. In the morning, a pattern of ice could be seen on their windowpanes, a parting gift from Jokul Frosti.

As the Scandinavians moved to regions with gentler weather, their fierce giant also evolved into a more benign version. Jack Frost, now known for being a merry trickster, still painted elaborate displays of ice on folks’ windowpanes. But now instead of causing instant frostbite, he merely nips at the fingers and nose of those brave enough to venture out on a cold night.

Baldur’s death

The Nordic people also have a great explanation for why winter nights are so long.

The legend tells that one morning Baldur, the God of Light, woke up after experiencing a nightmare predicting his imminent death. He consulted with his mother and the two of them concocted a plan.

They made everything on earth promise never to hurt Baldur. Since Baldur was a nice guy, this promise was easily made by every person, plant, and animal. Even the rocks and metals vowed never to be used to harm him.

Naturally, this promise had the consequence of making Baldur practically immortal. In response, it became a fun game to throw objects at the God of Light and watch them simply bounce off and fall to the ground. Baldur would also laugh at these attempts and go on about his day.

Only one person failed to see the humor in this new sport.

Loki, God of Mischief had noticed a critical oversight. Baldur’s mother had forgotten to ask the mistletoe plant for its promise. So Loki crafted a spear made out of mistletoe and handed it to Baldur’s twin brother, Hodor, the God of Darkness.

Up the spear flew, high into the air. But instead of bouncing off, the spear plunged into Baldur’s heart, killing him instantly, and plunging the world into darkness.

Image/ Lorri Lang/ Pixabay

December specific legends

Preparing for a hard winter could mean the difference between survival and death. That may be the reason why so much folklore involves predicting snow.

December is often seen as the first real month of winter and accordingly the majority of lore is associated with the holiday.

For instance, did you know: