👹👹👹
It’s December 5th, and you are uneasy about your behavior over the past year.
Krampus may visit and beat you or drag you to Hell.
Who is this beast, and will you sleep peacefully to make it to
December 6th, or St. Nicholas’s Day?
Enter Krampus. He is tall, furry, and has cloven hooves, a forked tongue, and devil horns.
Krampus is the ying to St. Nicholas’s yang. They form a partnership to monitor behavior if you will.
There isn’t an exact date for Krampus’s appearance on the scene, but with St. Nicholas focusing on all the good children, someone or something needs to deal with the naughty little ones.
The legend began in remote villages around Germany and was believed to be part of winter solstice rituals. “Krampus” comes from the German word for claw. He was said to be the son of Hel, the Norse God of the Underworld.
Krampus is said to resemble Greek mythology’s Pan in appearance, but the similarities stop there.
The Bible does not describe the Devil, so most images are artists’ renditions.
In medieval Europe, the culture started obsessing over the Devil. Krampus have been gaining popularity since ancient times. Somewhere around the thirteenth century, the church had enough of him, so they set out to ban his presence because it promoted the Devil, and we couldn’t have that going on.
December 5th is Krampusnacht or Krampus night. It was first celebrated in Germany, Austria, and Croatia and is now celebrated worldwide.
This night, there are parades where special food is eaten, and people dress like Krampus to scare spectators. Also known as Krampuslauf or the Krampus run, adults run through the streets, usually drinking and scare everyone.
Children would put a shoe and a bunch of birch sticks outside their doors. When the children woke up, they would either find goodies from St. Nicholas or a birch stick from Krampus as a warning to behave.
On December 5th, don’t forget to leave a bundle of birch outside for Krampus, or else…
Ps: Krampus is my favorite 🤩
Jen👹
xoxo