Yule, the Wild Hunt and the Raunächten (Raw Nights)

Traditionally it is on the eve of Yule when the "Wild Hunt" begins. Wotan who has completed his underworld journey, arises, with Berchta, the ice giants, the dark elves and other denizens to claim the old, weak and diseased. In ancient Europe this was understood as a purification process. Hence, homes and stalls were swept out and smudged with smoking bundles of spruce and herbs known to have antiseptic properties. I remember as a child, my mother would ritually bring a spruce sprig to smoke on the kitchen stove to mark the occasion. It's also this time of year the village is filled with the delicious aroma of hickory smoked hams. The ritual of feasting and clearing goes on until the 6th of January, when Berchta returns with her entourage and their quarry to her underworld domain, where they begin to fertilize the earth for the coming of Spring. This is immortalized in the mask carving traditions of the High Black Forest, called the "Perchten Walk", where people dressed up like these figures, go into the forest to celebrate with plenty of mulled wine and a dance around a great bonfire (at some appropriately located pub or lodge). The google images photo comes from the Perchten of Lake Constance, a joint celebration between France, Germany and Switzerland.