Werewolves and Christmas

There is a very old belief that someone who was born on Christmas is a werewolf. In many European countries it's believed that if a child is born during Yule and on Christmas eve and Christmas day, they would most likely become a werewolf when they grow up. Certain rituals would have to occur early on while the person is still a baby to prevent this curse developing. 

This may be linked to the idea that the Winter Solstice was connected to pre-Christian beliefs in the old gods, and so Christmas time became linked to werewolves and other supernatural creatures and spirits. Most of all, the festive season today reminds everyone of elves, gnomes, fairies, angels and even ghosts. Monsters like werewolves are not just confined to Halloween period but tend to reveal themselves over Christmas. 

During the 15th century, a Swedish explorer named Olaus Magnus, travelled to places like Lithuania, Latvia and Prussia, and in those places he encountered packs of werewolves. He described them as gathering together at Christmas as though they were having a party! He found that they resembled wolves but had transformed this way from men. They were responsible for the many killings of humans and livestock in nearby villages. He mentioned they were different to regular wolves in many ways, because they could speak and drank beer. When these werewolves attacked villages, they also raided beer cellars. 

What else Magnus wrote about his travels, was the story of a disabled boy in Livonia, who travelled alone on Christmas, making friends with people, who were followers of Satan and there was many of them. It was believed violence occurred among them with an iron whip, and they revealed themselves to be wolves, that descended upon livestock animals and even people with bloodshed.  

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Skin changers

One of the most ancient ways to becoming a werewolf is believed to be wearing a wolf pelt. This was the case in ancient times, when warriors wore the pelt of a wolf that made them take on the traits of the wolves during battle. In Scandinavia, the Norse had a term for this, Berserkers, and most specifically Ulfhednar, which means "wolf head". The men wore the pelts of wolves and bears to enter a war, and this made them extremely aggressive. It isn't always warriors that became wolf mad while dressed in the skins of wolves. 

A married couple wore wolf pelts and became wolves. They encountered a priest, and the woman was dying of an illness while in the form of a she-wolf. The husband wolf spoke to the priest and described that both of them were under a curse and so the priest gave the she-wolf viaticum. Both satisfied the werewolves were grateful to the priest and helped him on his travels. This was referenced by Gerald of Wales (1146-1223) in Ossory, Ireland. 

Such stories like these are rife in the past, most of them passed down, but this is mainly because wolves were common and considered a threat. Wolves were everywhere in Britain and Ireland until they were wiped out in the 18th century. In ancient times, it was said that wearing anything belonging to wolf, including its skin, bones, teeth and it's skull, gave the person the supernatural ability to become a wolf. Pliny the Elder mentioned it as versipellis which means "skin changer."

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