Perchten

What it is

Perchten are figures from the winter folklore of the Alps, and also the name for the processions in which they appear. They are the plural of Percht, a word that in older German meant bright or brilliant. In the older telling, the masks stood for the women who followed an ancient goddess, Frau Perchta, known in Slovenia as Pehta Baba. Some claim a link to the Germanic goddess Frija, or Frigg, though this is uncertain. In the Alpine regions the Perchten belong to the coldest turn of the year, when they are linked with fate, with the souls of the dead, and with the middle of winter.

Origins and history

The name goes back to the Old High German word peraht, which carried the sense of shining or light. How far the custom reaches is hard to settle. The wider family of Alpine practice is described as reaching into pre-Christian times, with elements that came from Germanic, Gaulish, Slavic and Raetian culture, and it held on best in country districts. In the mountains the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and older pagan practice has been described as ambivalent: some customs lasted only in valleys the church could not easily reach, while others were taken up and reshaped over the centuries. The Perchten themselves are remembered as the retinue of a goddess rather than as a church feast.

Masks and dress

A Percht wears a mask cut from brown wood, together with a sheepskin that can be brown or white. The mask is the heart of the outfit, and the older masks were female faces. Alongside them stands der Teufel, the devil, whom some call the most schiach, the ugliest, of the Perchten. Frau Perchta is counted the most schön, the most beautiful, and the feminine form of the name is Perchtin. Each figure carries its own character, and the procession mixes the frightening with the handsome. The costume is heavy and warm, which suits a night in the middle of winter.

The processions

The masks are shown in processions called Perchtenlauf. These fall in the last days of December and the first days of January, and 6 January is named as a particular day for them. Before that, from the start of December, young men in Alpine places also go about as Krampus, a horned figure who travels with Saint Nicholas and hands out warnings instead of gifts, carrying chains, hammers and bells. In the present day the two customs are often staged together at one event, which has blurred the line between them. The Perchten keep their own place, tied to the turn of the year.

Today and change

Country districts in the Alps have lost many of their people, and the old customs have moved with the changes. Some have been given fresh, modern readings, and the Perchtenlauf now happens in towns as well as villages. The masks are often kept for years and brought out again each winter. Wood, sheepskin and the nightly walk stay at the centre of it. What has not shifted is the season: the figures still belong to the darkest weeks of the year, when one year gives way to the next.

How Perchten is kept

Men from a village or town dress as Perchten. They put on a wooden mask and a sheepskin, and then walk together through the streets after dark. The group moves as a procession, called a Perchtenlauf, and onlookers come out to watch. The figures are meant to be unsettling rather than friendly, and the walk is loud and physical. In recent years the same event may also include Krampus figures, who carry chains, hammers and bells. The Perchten are usually seen in the last days of December and the first days of January, with 6 January named as a special date.

When and where

The processions belong to the last week of December and the first week of January. 6 January is singled out as a day when the masks are carried. That places the custom at the middle of winter, at the point where the old year ends and the new one starts.

The custom is kept in the Alps, above all in Austria and northern Italy, with the wider family of Alpine practice also recorded in Slovenia. It holds on best in country districts and remote valleys. Today it also appears in towns as a public event.

What Perchten means

For the people who keep it, the Perchten carry more than a scare. They stand for the middle of winter, for fate, and for the souls of the dead, and their walk is a way of meeting the hardest part of the year. The masks show that the season has two faces: one ugly and one beautiful, one frightening and one handsome. The bright sense hidden in the old word peraht sits under the frightening look, and the procession marks a turn rather than an ending.

Questions people ask about Perchten

See also

PolaznikThe first visitor to cross the threshold at Christmas, read as a sign of the year to comePerchtaA midwinter Alpine figure who checks spinning and tests good behaviourChristmasA festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsChristmas treeA decorated evergreen or artificial tree placed indoors to mark the Christmas season.

Good reading and sources

• The Origin of Krampus, Europe's Evil Twist on SantaSmithsonian Magazine, Article
• The Origin of Krampus, Europe's Evil Twist on SantaSmithsonian Magazine, Article

• Pre-Christian Alpine traditions on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.