12/07/2024
Love the history!
📚 Story Time: The Legend of Krampus
"Rooted in the 18th century,
the history and folklore of the
Krampus is based mostly in
Austria and Germany.
Every year in early December,
children in Austria and
Germany get ready for
St. Nicholas to visit them.
If they’ve been good, he’ll
reward them with presents and
treats. But if they’ve been bad,
they’ll get a lot more than a
lump of coal, they’ll have to
face Krampus.
Who’s Krampus, you ask?
He is a half-man, half-goat,
demonic creature (kinda looks
like a Greek Satyr) with matted
long hair, long horns, and a
long tongue, who comes around
every year to chase naughty
children and if he catches
them, he takes them with him.
European versions of
St. Nicholas have long had
scary counterparts like
Belsnickel and Knecht Ruprecht
who dole out punishment.
Krampus is one such character
who comes from folklore in
Austria’s Alpine region, where
he’s been frightening children
and amusing adults for
hundreds of years.
Krampus and St. Nick’s other
bad boys have their origins in
pagan celebrations of the
winter solstice.
Later, they became part of
Christian traditions in which
St. Nicholas visited children to
reward them on the night of
December 6. However, on the
night of December 5th, his
menacing partner would visit
children to punish them.
In Alpine Austria and some
parts of Germany, this day was
known as Krampusnacht, or
“Krampus Night,” when adults
might dress up as Krampus to
frighten children at their
homes as a punishment for
being naughty and to scare
them "into being good."
Children might have also seen
Krampus running through the
street during a Krampuslauf,
literally, a “Krampus run.”
If Krampusnacht was a way to
scare kids into behaving
themselves, the Krampuslauf,
which isn’t tied to a specific
day, was a way for grown men
to blow off steam while
probably still scaring kids.
Austrian men would get drunk
and run through the streets
dressed as the fearsome
creature. Like Krampusnacht,
the Krampuslauf tradition
continues to the present day.
The introduction of mass visual
media couldn’t help but sweep
the charismatic Krampus up in
its wave. When the postcard
industry experienced a boom in
Germany and Austria in the
1890s, it opened the way for
Krampuskarten.
These holiday cards weren’t
meant to make you feel warm
and fuzzy. Ones marked “Gruss
vom Krampus” ("Greetings from
Krampus"), showed Krampus
stuffing a distressed child into
his satchel or preparing to hit
one with his bundle of birch
sticks.
Many of these postcards
depicted Krampus going after
children with his sticks, leading
them away in chains, or
carrying them off in his bag.
There were also cards that
were a little more, adult like.
Krampus cards in the early 20th
century show him punishing
children, yes, but also
proposing to women.
In some cards, Krampus is
portrayed as a large woman
whipping tiny men with her
birch sticks and carrying them
off in her satchel.
For over a century, most
Americans probably never saw a
Krampus card or even knew who
Krampus was. That changed in
2004, when art director and
graphic designer Monte
Beauchamp published a book of
Krampus cards and helped
organize an art show inspired
by the cards.
Whether or not Beauchamp is
primarily responsible for
introducing Krampus cards to
the U.S., Krampus has since
become a sort of ironic icon in
America. Krampus’ popularity in
the U.S. peaked with the 2015
feature film 'Krampus' by
Micheal Dougherty.
Although Krampus is relatively
new to the U.S., this alpine
legend is the original bad Santa
and has become a part of
holiday celebrations and
observances all across the
world.
So remember to be good or you
might get a visit from Krampus."
✨Tonight is Krampusnacht!
(December 5 & 6)✨
🧸 Raven Darkwood
🎨 J. E. Larson Artist
