In their leadership of the Wild Hunt Percht and Holda are brought into relation with the woodland beasts, though as hunter rather than as guardian. We know that such a transformation often takes place in the development of the demons of wild nature. Cats and dogs, goats or grunting pigs sometimes belong with the Wild Host itself and show the Lady to be surrounded by her animals - the image pointing, possibly, to her more ancient role of guardian. Dogs especially are noted in the retinue; since dogs are closely related to wolves we might understand the alliance of the Lady with her pack as a vestige of her more archaic form as Wolfshirt ('shepherd of wolves'), a figure of Germanic and non-Germanic tradition
[…] Wolves and wolf disguises are especially prominent in midwinter. The Wolfshirt, mentioned earlier, gathers his 'flock' at the time of the midnight mass to tell each of the wolves what he is allowed to seize and devour in the coming year. Olaus Magnus informs us that in the Baltic regions men are transformed into wolves in the twelve nights of Christmas; the turning of a man into a werewolf belongs in many areas of Germany to this time of year. A wolf mask, called Isengrind, haunts some towns of Switzerland on New Year's Eve. In some areas of Germany the name of the wolf is not to be pronounced in December, while in others December is designated as Wolfsmonat - month of the wolf.
- The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figures, Lotte Motz
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