Krampus - Santa Claus' sadistic sidekick

Everyone knows that Santa Claus gives gifts to good children and coal to bad ones. But according to tradition, St. Nicholas - the prototype of the famous Santa Claus - was accompanied by his faithful companion and at the same time antipode - a horned monster named Krampus. It was he who was responsible for punishing disobedient children. Krampus is an integral New Year's character in the Alpine regions. People dressed as this terrible monster can be found on the streets during Christmas festivities. Beware! He's got a whip and he's going to use it!

How is this nocturnal creature, more like an orc, connected with Christmas?

As you know, if children behave well, Father Frost (or Santa Claus - depending on who you choose) will bring them gifts for the New Year.

With Krampus the idea is the same, only he doesn't bring gifts. He is not at all interested in good children. He likes those who behave badly, because they are the ones he can whip with his whip on New Year's Day.

Today, if children behave badly, it usually means that they will not receive any gifts. For some, this punishment is enough. However, some cultures had their own characters to frighten naughty children. One of them was Krampus - the threat of all naughty children.

Remember the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Well, Krampus is somewhat similar to him. Only with a much worse character.

Add to this the horns, something from the goblins and orcs from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and you will imagine a real Krampus.

Krampus is not just a fiction, but rather a means of intimidating naughty children, which has been used in different cultures for a long time.

It began to gain popularity in Europe, appearing in remote, isolated alpine regions just over a hundred years ago.

This was partly due to the popularity of Christmas cards depicting him in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The image of Krampus has changed little in recent years; one might even say that he has become scarier.

So where did the legend of Krampus come from? The very name of this monster comes from the Old German word “krampen”.

It means "claw". Krampus is an incubus that accompanied Saint Nicholas. Only he doesn’t give gifts to good children - he punishes the bad ones.

According to tradition, an incubus is a demon that visits sleeping people. He lies down on them (the word “incubus” comes from the Latin word “incubo” - “to lie on top”).

However, Krampus is not just any rapist. Its purpose is to punish children who have behaved badly this year.

Postcards from the early 20th century depict Krampus with a whip.

It is with this whip that he “measures out” his Christmas punishment.

In Austria in particular, Krampus Night is still not forgotten. He is remembered on December 6, St. Nicholas Day.

Young people (and today girls) dress up as Krampus and walk along the city streets. Their goal is to scare children. And it seems, not only children.

Needless to say, this is Europe, the 21st century. The Krampus tradition, once part of the culture, has now become a great excuse for those who like to indulge in all sorts of street madness. Let's just say it's an excuse for young people who want to be bad for a little while.

Due to the isolation of the alpine regions, many regional varieties of Krampus emerged. In Bavaria he is “Wilde Mann”, somewhere else he is “Knecht Rupert”. But the tradition of punishment walks side by side with him.

However, in Hungary his image softened a little. There he is considered a harbinger of troubles, but not a demon. In addition, the Hungarian Krampus is dressed in a black suit. The modern image of the polite (but nonetheless stupid) devil comes from there. The Hungarian Krampus often carries Virgaki - several rods tied together, which children can receive if they behave badly. Of course, they still receive gifts too.

The largest festival in honor of Krampus takes place in the town of Schladming in Austria. About a thousand Krampus gather there. They carry sticks and burning whips with which they can punish bad children. Often, Krampus choose young girls as their targets. Especially the cute ones.

It is not surprising that the girls prefer to stay at home on this night (after all, the German whip is famous all over the world).

Mostly wooden masks were used for the Krampus costume, despite the fact that they are too similar to the masks used by Hollywood make-up artists. Krampus' clothes are sheep's skin and the horns of the same animals.

Let's hope that “no animals were harmed in the making of these costumes.

The Krampus Festival is becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the planet.

Nowadays there are fewer and fewer Christian traditions, and people sometimes switch to pagan ones.

And the gloomy, almost “Gothic” beauty of this image only adds to its popularity, because today demons and other evil spirits are very popular.