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When the Sun Sleeps: Winter Solstice in Asia (Part Three)

Across Asia, winter-solstice folklore treats the longest night as a test of humility and endurance. From Siberia’s frost bull to Japan’s snow spirits and Korea’s red-bean rituals, these traditions frame cold as a force to respect, not conquer, and renewal as something you earn.

Before electric light banished the shadows, winter across the colder reaches of Asia was a time for vigilance and reverence. The Winter Solstice—the year’s longest night—was more than an astronomical marker; it was a reminder of nature’s power and the fragile balance between survival and oblivion. Winter Solstice in Asia is looked at differently.

In many regions, stories emerged to give shape to the cold: spirits, demons, and deities who ruled when the world froze. Some brought famine, others discipline, and a few offered protection through ritual and respect. These myths were not merely superstition; they were survival guides, moral codes, and poetic reflections of human resilience. In this continuation, specific traditions will also be observed.

Though much of Asia does not celebrate Christmas, winter remains a time for remembrance, purification, and renewal—the same primal emotions that inspired Europe’s own solstice monsters.

Chysh Khan
(Sakha / Yakut Republic, Siberia)

To the Yakut people of Siberia, Chysh Khan—the “Bull of Winter”—emerges from the Arctic Ocean as the cold’s living spirit. His breath freezes rivers, his hooves mark the frost, and his retreat brings spring. Even the horns have meaning: his first horn represents the great frost and second the deep cold.

Today, he’s celebrated in Yakutian winter festivals as a personification of endurance, a being both feared and honoured. In the world’s coldest inhabited lands, he remains a god of survival.

Further reading: The Bull of Winter According to Tourism.arctic-Russia

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Winter Solstice Legends: So Who Rules Them All? (Part Two)

Before Christmas and commerce, the winter solstice legends included more than the usual creatures that go bump in the night. From Krampus to the Yule Cat—there’s many more who flit in the night, to celebrate winter’s dual nature: cruel yet cleansing, dark but also full of renewal.

Winter Solstice Legends - Holiday Horror 2025 Edition No list can ever be complete without mention of the first entry who—at least in terms of media appeal—pulls the reins. Out of all the darker Winter Solstice Legends, Krampus has become the most acknowledged in modern Western pop culture! Whether he is parodied or turned into a true icon of terror, the purpose varies.

That’s because of his allure and how media has embraced him as an icon for those who don’t really celebrate the modern-day notion of Christmas or just want to be anti-establishment. But there are others who exist alongside him, whom we will explore in a separate article. They all get acknowledged, whether locally or in different regions around the world.

Belsnickel
(Germany / Pennsylvania Dutch)

Belsnickel

Clad in tattered furs, Belsnickel visits before Christmas carrying a whip and sweets. He tests children’s manners, rewarding the polite and chastising the rude. In North America, he remains part of Pennsylvania Dutch custom, a rustic, moral counterpoint to Santa Claus. As for why he’s such a fixture in this part of the United States, the best way to find out is either to go there to witness events yourself, or….

Further reading: Christmas in Pennsylvania by Alfred Shoemaker, or this report on Pennlive.com.

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Winter Solstice Legends. Exploring Their Wild Magic and Legendary Status (Part One)

Holiday Horror and Winter Solstice Legends Long before malls blared carols and Santa slid down chimneys, winter belonged to stranger things. From the shadowed Alps to the frozen fjords, there are other entities said to roam the land. Throughout Europe, some were mortal, others were spirits, and maybe one or two were fae. These Winter Solstice Legends existed in legend and folklore as a friend to Saint Nick, or perhaps served as a gentle reminder of Winter’s power, or perhaps why one must be kind to others!

As avatars of them perform in festivals, their true presence manifests in the songs and stories told over the warm fire. Whether in the comfort of a home or in camp, just what’s revealed keeps some thoughts safe. And in what I hope is a comprehensive list, what I offer is what I’ve learned so far about these legends.

The Caganer
(Catalonia, Spain)

Often hidden in plain sight, the Caganer turns the act of searching into part of the ritual; finding him is said to bring luck, while failing to include him invites misfortune or poor crops. His origins likely trace back to 17th- and 18th-century Catalonia, when peasant realism and earthy humour seeped into religious art as a quiet counterbalance to idealised piety.

By squatting at the margins of the holy scene, he affirms that divinity does not float above daily life but is embedded within it, bodily, messily, and without shame. In this sense, the Caganer functions as a solstice figure in disguise, anchoring cosmic renewal to manure, labour, and the cycles of the land. Modern versions depicting politicians, celebrities, and pop-culture icons extend the joke further, democratising the sacred moment and reminding everyone, saint and sinner alike, that nature makes equals of us all.

Futher Reading: BBC Report: Catalonia’s Beloved Scatological Christmas Custom

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Folktales Review: Finding Courage in the Norwegian North

Hege, Bjørn, and Romain face grief, isolation, and uncertainty in Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s Folktales, a documentary that trades trolls for emotional trials and the supernatural for self-discovery. With some people heading back to school, they may want to be aware other programs exist to help them deal with post-secondary.

In Norway’s far north, where winters stretch long and the aurora paints the sky, a group of young adults sets out on a modern hero’s journey. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s documentary Folktales doesn’t follow Vikings clashing with trolls or giants. Instead, its battles are quieter yet no less daunting: grief, fear, and the uncertainty of growing up. Unlike the heroes of the Eddas, these youths don’t all stride forward with courage, but they still answer the call. The film follows three 19-year-olds each weighed down by their own struggles.

Hege spends her nights partying, still drifting after losing her father many years ago. Bjørn shrinks from new friendships, convinced he is an outcast. Romain has withdrawn even further: he dropped out of school and hides from the world in fear. None of them knows what future to pursue, but all crave change. That chance comes through the Pasvik Program (Pasvik Folkehøgskole), a modern version of Norway’s folk schools. First established in the 1840s to bring education to rural areas, these schools were never about diplomas. They offered reflection, skill-building, and community. In Finnmark, this offering continues that tradition by inviting young people to take part voluntarily in an immersive experience—one that tests them both physically and emotionally.

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When Prosjekt Z is More About the Movie Making Process than The Horror

Anyone having the post-Halloween blues may want to check out this hybrid Prosjekt Z as it’s not always about the terror, but the blues.

Coming to DVD/VOD
Nov 3, 2023

Henrik Martin Dahlsbakken‘s Prosjekt Z is a rather strange hybrid that doesn’t quite know what kind of movie it wants to be. When it’s hitting select theatres after All Hallow’s Eve, just who will be anxious to see this must be for folks craving anything postmortem. Here, the story is about a group of students out to make a zombie film out in the woods. But there’s much more going on, since we also get something akin to Attack of the Killer Tomatoes going on later on.

If that’s not this work’s premise, then the Rocky Horror moments even get curiouser and curiouser–minus the music. That is, there’s a couple who’s out in the woods and after having a bit of a spat, find themselves in front of a lone mansion. They’re just characters to a story within a story where afterwards, a meteorite comes zooming through and crashes! Its radiation is turning the locals into the walking dead.

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[Victoria Film Festival 2020] Hiding Behind the Men’s Room is Sweet Music

The Men’s Room is a sombre documentary about a men’s choir who don’t have much of a future for themselves.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Feb 7 | 6:30 PM | Capitol 6
Feb 14 | 12:15 PM | The Vic

For Vi er Gutta (original title) or The Men’s Room is a sombre documentary about a men’s choir who don’t have much of a future for themselves. This movie length work by Petter Sommer and Jo Vemund Svendsen follows “The Male Choir,” a band of merry men who should be burdened with uncertainly. They are 40 somethings by my reckoning. Every Tuesday, they get together and sing the blues. It’s laced with references about women, whisky and wine one day, or that desire for rockstar fame in another. Ivar is their conductor. He helps the team fine tune their singing voice and honestly, they’re quite good. The music is therapy for them.

When they learn their lead has cancer, the plot is simple. Just how long does he have? They’ve been asked to open for Black Sabbath–no easy feat–and they better be on top of their game.

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