Just like the later Santa Claus, Frau Gaur rode through the air on a sled at wintertide, and distributed gifts and punishments according to her own moral standards.
@Ellirahim@germany@folklore In German folklore, those "special individuals" are usually "Sunday Children", although it was not always sufficient to be merely born on a Sunday. Instead, they might need to have been born at midnight on a Sunday, or on specific Sundays such as Palm Sunday.
To mis-phrase Gibson, "the country finds its own uses for things".
Although portraying the Devil as an ineffectual buffoon was actually in line with medieval theology, which generally held that only human weakness gave the Devil any opportunity at all - and a lot of folklore reflects those views. The "fire and brimstone" stuff only arrived with the Early Modern era - a time of much religious strife, where infernal influences were suspected around every corner.
Greetings, myth lovers! Join @AimeeMaroux for today's theme: Pumpkins. Which myths feature pumpkins, gourds or squashes? Tell us a the myth & tag #MythologyMonday with your #pumpkin lore. See you #Monday! 🎃
Alas, I'll have to sit this one out - pumpkins didn't really become popular in Germany until recent generations, and thus I couldn't find any applicable folk tales about them.
Now, cockerel's eggs are another matter - those feature repeatedly, and are never good news. They hatch snakes, basilisks, dragons, and even Lovecraftian abominations...
Nothing about gourds. But I do think there are a number of tales featuring turnips. And, of course, there's the spirit/giant of the Giant Mountains - "Rübezahl" or "Turnip Counter".
That's pretty common for ghosts in German folklore as well, including Irrlichts (the German counterpart to will-o'-wisps). They are not evil enough for Hell, but not good enough for Heaven, and thus are assigned penance on Earth until they are released.
Though there are also tales of people who have been kicked out of Heaven and Hell - usually smiths.
Very sketchy, but also very awesome. I mean, I don't know of any other people who get kicked out of Hell for creating a hostile workplace environment for the lesser devils!
Being "non-racist" is not a state of being for which you get a gold star. It's a process which requires continual self-examination. You can't just start with the assumption that you are "not racist" - you have to put in your work, and keep doing so.
And don't so it because you crave "recognition" for your efforts, but because it's a basic part of being a decent human being.
Oh, there are far worse nobles in German folk tales than this one.
The folk storytellers of old had plenty of contact with actual nobles, and thus felt less inclined to come up with pro-monarchy propaganda the way Disney does.
