10 replies to this topic

[hawkwind]

I have never heard of Krampus please do tell!

[Horne]

I just explained some of the pre-christian lore tied to St Nicholas (December 6) to a friend of mine, and though we don't know Krampus in the Netherlands, there is a similar character called Black Peter (Zwarte Piet) and in fact the companion of St Nicholas is known in large parts of Europe in many guises and known by many different names. I do think it's important that people learn about the background of these traditions and the function they have (or once had) in stimulating children to behave, but I agree it is better to wait teaching children about all this until they are older, so they can experience the festivities unspoiled by facts they are too young to really appreciate.

[RoseRed]

I taught my daughter about him when she was older.

[Raineylane]

Just learned about Krampus myself last year.  Never of heard of him before that.  Very interesting though.  For some reason he reminds me of Hogfather.  Not the same I know.

[Mountain Witch]

Timely...this article popped up in my feed this morning:

 

http://www.todayifou...hristmas-demon/

[Raineylane]

Timely...this article popped up in my feed this morning:

 

http://www.todayifou...hristmas-demon/

 

 

 

 

From the above article:  While Santa gives the good ones gifts and joy, Krampus gives the bad ones beatings with a whip (made from birch sticks and horsehair) and nightmares.

 

 

 

Interesting, when I was a kid I never heard about the lump of coal (from Santa) until I was much older.  But I was told that I would get a bag of switches if I was bad.  Hmmm, makes me wonder if the idea of the switches came from the Krampus story.

[Lilitia]

I was also told that I would get switches if I was naughty, and that if I did that meant that I needed a whipping. Sounds similar.

[Kowalski]

That gives me an idea of making a besom of birch and horse hair for decoration over the festive season. 

Although... I wonder if it could be applied to a spell in some way... 

[Emrys]

Haha. So glad I came upon this. Growing up in Germany and Finland, Krampus and krampusnacht was part of our dec 5th evening and most of december. We grew up expecting him to whip us into good behavior if we were naughty with some of the scarier stories stating he'd take us away forever. My grandpa and his friends would get dressed up in some wonderful krampus costumes and visit us for a scare...then proceed to get drunk at the nearest pub. Ay, good times.

[Yex]

This last Christmas season, I taught my daughter (who was 3 at the time; she turned 4 yester-day) about Krampus. I think she was pretty scared of him, especially after some warnings that if she didn't behave he would come for her, so we ultimately had to tone it down a bit and assure her that she wouldn't get taken into his sack, because she's a good person, et cetera. 

 

On Christmas Eve, she helped me leave a glass of brandy for him on the porch.