Beyond the sugarplums and snowflakes, Krampus lurks in the shadows behind your Christmas tree.
This guy makes the Grinch seem jolly. In Alpine folklore, Krampus is a demonic figure with goat horns and hooves, a lot of hair and a long pointy tongue. He carries chains and sack on his back. He is St. Nicholas's bad boy companion. While Nicholas rewards good children with gifts on December 6th, Krampus kidnaps the bad ones. He puts them in his sack and carries them away to his fiery lair.
Krampus comes from pre-Christian traditions and may have later developed into the Christian image of the devil. In Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia, Krampus is part of Christmas folklore.
In many cities of the region, December 5th is the night of the Krampuslauf - a parade of the greusome anti-Santas. Check out this video clip of the Krampuslauf in Graz, Austria.
Forget good will toward men. These guys are mean.
After decades of being ignored in favor rosy-cheeked Santa Claus, Krampus is having a pop culture rennaisance. He was recently featured in American Dad, and the series Grimm. Grimm is a favorite in our household - it's about how most of the criminals in Portland are actually supernatural creatures with German fairy tale roots, and the detective/avenger of evil who can see them in thier true forms has to figure out how to beat them at their own game. Its actually not as weird as it sounds. There are also German phrases in it from time to time that I can now understand.
Every good story needs a villain, even the Christmas story. And Krampus is a perfect fit (King Herod doesn't have much of a stage presence). He would certainly keep me from dreaming of sugar plum fairies. I'd rather just take the lump of coal.
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