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Nicholas and sometimes on his own, Krampus visits homes and businesses. On the preceding evening of 5 December, Krampus Night or Krampusnacht, the wicked hairy devil appears on the streets. Nicholas is celebrated in parts of Europe on 6 December. This quality can be found in other companions of Saint Nicholas such as Zwarte Piet. Some of the older versions make mention of naughty children being put in the bag and taken away. Sometimes Krampus appears with a sack or a basket strapped to his back this is to cart off evil children for drowning, eating, or transport to Hell. The birch branches are replaced with a whip in some representations. The Rute may have had significance in pre-Christian pagan initiation rites. Of more pagan origins is the Rute, a bundle of birch branches that Krampus carries and with which he occasionally swats children. The chains are sometimes accompanied with bells of various sizes. He thrashes the chains for dramatic effect. Krampus carries chains, thought to symbolize the binding of the Devil by the Christian Church. His long, pointed tongue lolls out, and he has fangs. He is hairy, usually brown or black, and has the cloven hooves and horns of a goat. Appearance Ī 1900s greeting card reading 'Greetings from Krampus!'Īlthough Krampus appears in many variations, most share some common physical characteristics. In 2019 there were reports of drunken or disorderly conduct by masked Krampuses in some Austrian towns.

The Krampus tradition is being revived in Bavaria as well, along with a local artistic tradition of hand-carved wooden masks. Towards the end of the century, a popular resurgence of Krampus celebrations occurred and continues today. In the 1950s, the government distributed pamphlets titled 'Krampus Is an Evil Man'. In the aftermath of the 1932 election in Austria, the Krampus tradition was prohibited by the Dollfuss regime under the clerical fascist Fatherland's Front ( Vaterländische Front) and the Christian Social Party. The Krampus figures persisted, and by the 17th century Krampus had been incorporated into Christian winter celebrations by pairing Krampus with St. They believe Krampus derives from a pagan supernatural who was assimilated to the Christian devil. A large literature, much of it by European folklorists, bears on these subjects.Īustrians in the community we studied are quite aware of 'heathen' elements being blended with Christian elements in the Saint Nicholas customs and in other traditional winter ceremonies. Masked devils acting boisterously and making nuisances of themselves are known in Germany since at least the sixteenth century while animal masked devils combining dreadful-comic ( schauriglustig) antics appeared in Medieval church plays. The feast dedicated to this patron of children is only one winter occasion in which children are the objects of special attention, others being Martinmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and New Year's Day. Nicholas himself became popular in Germany around the eleventh century. The Saint Nicholas festival we are describing incorporates cultural elements widely distributed in Europe, in some cases going back to pre-Christian times. ĭiscussing his observations in 1975 while in Irdning, a small town in Styria, anthropologist John J. Though there are no written sources before the end of the 16th century.

The history of the Krampus figure has been theorized as stretching back to pre-Christian Alpine traditions, with celebrations involving Krampus dating back to the 6th or 7th century CE. Origins Ī person dressed as Krampus at Morzger Pass, Salzburg, Austria Krampus is thought to come from either Bavarian: krampn, meaning 'dead', 'rotten', or from the German: kramp/krampen, meaning 'claw'.

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The figure has been imported into American popular culture, and has appeared in movies, TV and video games. Krampus is featured on holiday greeting cards called Krampuskarten. Such events occur annually in most Alpine towns.

In traditional parades and in such events as the Krampuslauf (English: Krampus run), young men dressed as Krampus attempt to scare the audience with their antics. The origin of the figure is unclear some folklorists and anthropologists have postulated it as having pre-Christian origins. Krampus day itself, on the other hand, is on the 5th of December. Assisting Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, the pair visit children on the night of 6 December, with Saint Nicholas rewarding the well-behaved children with gifts such as oranges, dried fruit, walnuts and chocolate, while the badly behaved ones only receive punishment from Krampus with birch rods. Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure in the Central and Eastern Alpine folklore of Europe who, during the Advent season, scares children who have misbehaved. 1900s illustration of Saint Nicholas and Krampus visiting a child

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