Holde (also Holda, Hylde, Holle, Hulda, Holla) is an an ancient Germanic supreme goddess who predates most of the Germanic pantheon. Holle is the goddess to whom children who died as infants go. Her connection to the spirit world through the magic of spinning and weaving has associated her with witchcraft in Catholic German folklore. She is known as the leader of women, and of female nocturnal spirits. Her earliest definite appearance links her with the Virgin Mary, commonly called the “Queen of Heaven”. “In the night of Christ’s Nativity they set the table for the Queen of Heaven, whom the people call Frau Holda, that she might help them”.