Christmas might be all about tasty food, gifts, andChristmas comedy moviesin some parts of the world, but in others, people tend to go a bit darker. Or a lot darker. Austria and Germany have a lot of interesting traditions and myths that have to do with the holiday season, but certainly one of the most popular ones has to be the legend of Krampus.
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In 2015, Krampus became a bit more popular to the rest of the world than it was before, due to the movieKrampuswhich might have gotten some things wrong, but it was a hit nevertheless. A short introduction is that Krampus is a Christmas demon who keeps children from misbehaving and looks absolutely terrifying. He has his roots in German folklore, has his own festival, and is much more than just the opposite of St. Nick.
7There Can’t Be Only One
Even though popular belief has Krampus being one entity, in “reality” Krampus is more of a genre than it is the description of one monster.
There can be many Krampuses, and even though it is not a very comforting thought, the image of St. Nicholas with his own gang of horned demons is certainly something spectacular to picture.
6Besties With St. Nick
As weird friendships go, this one has to be in the top 5. Instead of being sworn enemies, as it would have been expected, Krampus and St. Nick are actually having a bit of a bromance.
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Like Doctor Who, the pals travel around the world on Christmas, delivering gifts and mischief – depending on the occasion. While Santa gives gifts to children who behave nicely, Krampus gives them a good whooping if they’ve been naughty. The good cop–bad cop duo may not be politically correct all the time, but they certainly have a special friendship.
5Krampus Christmas Cards
Along with exchanging ideas for thebest Christmas movies to watch, holiday fans have the option to also exchange Krampus Christmas Cards.
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In the Alpine region of Europe (Austria, parts of Germany, etc.), it is perfectly normal to send your friends a Krampus themed card, and the tradition dates back to 1800. Instead of Santa putting gifts in socks, people can send the friends a picture of Krampus putting children into sacks or hitting them with sticks.
4He Is Not Human
Many characters ingames that have a Christmas themeare not humans, so why don’t the developers go ahead and create a Krampus game already? The beloved slash loathed Christmas demon is not one that shares the human gene, although he does have human characteristics. He usually features one human foot and one cloven hoof, and is depicted by being half goat and half demon.
Whenever he isused as a Christmas villainthough, he certainly has human needs and feelings, but that’s to be expected, even if he has fangs and a forked tongue.
3He Is A Superstar In Germany And Austria
While the rest of the world is busy buying gifts, preparing for Christmas parades, and wondering where they’re going to spend Christmas Eve, in Austria and Germany people prepare for the Krampus festival that comes a bit earlier.
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On the eve of December 5th, the Krampusnacht happens. On that night, Krampus comes to town and looks for anything that’s not to his liking, from little misbehaving children to dirty houses and shops, and gives his swift revenge on those on his list, by either beating them up, leaving coals all around or just plainly kidnap them and taking them to the underworld.
2He Is Part Of A Big Horrible Family
He might be friends with Santa, but Krampus doesn’t have only him to spend the cold winter nights with and maybewatch some Christmas specials together.
In fact, Krampus is a part of quite a big family of Christmas horrors:
1Fascists Don’t Like Krampus
In Austria, from 1934 until 1938, Krampus was banned along with the annual festival, while the fascist regime was in place. Why? Simply because fascists hated Krampus.
The idea that he was the opposite of Santa, meaning he was evil, went against Christian beliefs and was a symbol of Social Democrats. They didn’t only ban the celebration but warned anyone dressed as Krampus that they would be arrested on sight. This is something that should definitely be added to theKrampus legend and his powers.
