The Legend of the Christmas Witch

 

The Legend of the Christmas Witch (2021) takes place in a time where magic is all around. Kristtörn and her twin brother, Kristoffer, live in the woods as orphans, taken care of by the woodland creatures and their own magical abilities–Kristtörn being able to speak with animals and grow fruit while Kristoffer possesses the ability to appear and disappear at will. One day, a couple by the name of Kringle comes to the woods and takes Kristoffer with them, while Kristtörn is found by Lutzelfrau, the Yule Witch, and her raven Malachi. News spreads in the nearby village that there is a witch in the woods, and Lutzelfrau sends Kristtörn away to keep her safe in the hopes that she will finally find her brother, who is living amongst the elves and raising a herd of reindeer. Kristtörn then embarks on a mission to find her brother but discovers along the way that the world is not kind to witches. 

When looking for a children's book to read, I came across this book–The Legend of the Christmas Witch–and was instantly intrigued as to what it could be about, as Christmas is typically associated with Christianity and witches with the Devil. Interestingly enough, there is an Italian legend about a Christmas Witch named Befana. Befana was approached by The Three Kings on January 5th, The Feast of Epiphany. Each story has different variations about her interaction with the Magi, but ultimately, the story ends with her flying after them on a broom with gifts for The Christ Child. The legend says that each year she looks for the Chirst Child but is unable to find him, so she leaves gifts for the well-behaved children in their stockings (La Befana, The Italian Christmas Witch). 

Although the witchcraft in this book does not look like how our books describe it, such as cursing crops or causing young girls to be hysterical, the book does acknowledge that during this time, witches were being persecuted and burnt at the stake. This becomes a recurrent theme in the book as Kristtörn is persistently hunted as she obtains the title of ‘The Christmas Witch.’ Moreover, the book has many other ties to our lessons about witchcraft that warrant further discussion below. 

In this book, there is a distinct connection between the magical beings and nature as Kristtörn later befriends a colony of penguins and Kristoffer a herd of reindeer. As referenced in my earlier post about witch clothing, witchcraft has shifted to focusing more on connecting with the earth and its magical properties (What Is Witchcore?). Furthermore, Kristtörn and Lutzelfrau celebrate Yuletide each year, and all the creatures of the forest gather around a bonfire where evergreen and holly offerings are hung and songs are sung. This scene largely represents many of the depictions we have seen of sabbats, which are regarded as a supposed meeting of witches (A History of Magic, Witchcraft, and The Occult, 106). Malachi, the crow, is Lutzelfrau’s companion, and though he is never stated to be a familiar, he can be equated to one as he helps Lutzelfrau to raise Kristtörn and guides her as she grows older. 

As discussed in class, misogyny is a largely inherent part of how the witch trials and hunts functioned; moreover, this is interestingly depicted in the book. To begin, the story makes it evident that Kristoffer is also a magical being and uses his abilities to bring Christmas to the villagers. Each year during Yuletide, Kristtörn searches for her brother every night and even leaves him talismans, such as dolls made of hair or wreaths of feathers, on the front doorsteps of these families; however, the villagers have taken them to be pagan objects and dispose of them quickly. This causes them to then hunt her down and claim her to be an enemy of Christmas. The book does an excellent job at portraying the misogynistic tendencies of the witch hunts as even though Kristtörn holds similar traditions to her brother–him being the bringer of Christmas and her of Yuletide–she is still the one who is prosecuted while he is beloved. This is indicative of the witch trials, as a majority of those convicted were women. 

I really enjoyed reading this book as it was entertaining, beautifully illustrated, and had accurate connections to witchcraft. The book seemed well-received on Amazon, though some customers were not too pleased that the ending was not wholesome. There is a sequel to the book (The Return of the Christmas Witch), as the story ends with Kristtörn vowing to ruin Christmas, and I am slightly tempted to buy it and find out what happens next!