YA BETTER NOT SHOUT
Santa’s evil twin is all about scaring kids into behaving, rather than bribing them with presents, writes Elizabeth Sleith
The little children of Munich have an extra incentive to be nice today and it’s called the Krampus Run. The Krampus, as the legend goes, is a half-goat, half-demon, who whips little children into moral shape at Christmas time — a kind of mean assistant to kindly Santa Claus. Whereas the latter keeps a list of naughty kids throughout the year — and rewards those who manage to stay off of it with presents, the Krampus is the “be-good boogeyman”. With horns, straggly hair, fangs and fur, he roams the streets armed with chains and bells for shaking about and sticks for swatting naughty children.
The night of his coming is called Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night.
And it ends with the horned fellow hauling off naughty kids to the underworld.
Sounds horrid, but the story is hugely popular in Bavaria, much of Eastern Europe, and parts of Germany, where many towns stage a Krampus Run.
For this, adults dress up as the frightening fellow in elaborate costumes — in some parts, the competition is fierce — and run through the streets, frightening/delighting little kids as they go.
The Munich Christmas Market has already staged such a run, drawing about
300 participants, on December 10.
But it proved so popular — or maybe the local kids are that naughty — that they’re staging another one tonight.
According to National Geographic, the name Krampus comes from the German word krampen, meaning claw, and is said to be the son of Hel in Norse mythology.
The beast also has some characteristics in common with other demon types in Greek mythology, such as satyrs and fauns.
The character is apparently growing in popularity in other parts of the world, thanks in part to a “bah, humbug” attitude, with people searching for ways to celebrate the holidays in non-traditional ways.
Or maybe it’s a case of “any excuse for a good party” — with some appealing merchandising opportunities thrown in.
In the US, people are buying into the trend with Krampus parties, though presumably the part where children are smacked with sticks will be toned down considerably.
The Krampus isn’t the only being keeping an eye on the world’s naughty children at Christmas. In Japan, Santa Claus — known there as “Santa Kurohsu” — is said to have eyes in the back of his head.
On the other side of the world in Norway, people hide their brooms away on Christmas Eve.
According to local tradition, this is the same night that evil spirits and witches arrive from whichever awful places they hide the rest of the year.
Fear of witches — at least over Christmas — seems to run the other way in Italy (perhaps because dark, spooky forests are not part of the overall Italian experience).
Here, an old woman known simply as “La Befana”, flies from house to house on a broomstick on the night of January 6, delivering presents to good girls and boys.
The story goes that she was supposed to join the three Magi on their journey to deliver the gifts of gold, incense and myrrh but could not leave as she had housework to finish.