~ Unknown
STILLWATER OKLAHOMA MAGAZINE / 28
With winter winds blowing and snow on the roof, You’ ll hear his approach with each step of his hoof. He’ ll stuff you deep down in his dirty cloth sack, He’ ll take you away, and you’ ll never come back.
~ Unknown
And the devil himself …
A photo by Peter Rumpold of a Krampus figure at a Krampus celebration in Zirl. Photo Courtesy AdobeStock
B
etter be nice, boys and girls, because it’ s that time of year when one of two things is coming: Being given presents from Santa or being snatched and thrown into a sack by
Krampus.
Medieval devils, Alpine winter traditions, St. Nicholas plays and regional customs gradually merged to create what is the modern horned and hairy, devil-like Krampus. By the 19th century, the figure increasingly appeared as a terrifying figure with horns, fur and chains, sometimes carrying switches and birch branches for spanking children.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, people portraying St. Nicholas and Krampus were visiting homes and schools and later appearing at Christmas markets. By the late 19th century, Krampus was a mass-produced pop culture figure in Germany and Austria, with holiday postcards called Krampuskarten that featured humorous scenes of the creature carrying away children.
Krampus traditions declined in some communities during the 19th and 20th centuries, while continuing in others, but they began increasing in popularity again in the late 20th and 21st centuries, with Krampus exploding in the U. S. over the past decade as a pop culture figure with books, parties, artwork, movies and merchandise transforming the ancient figure into a Christmas icon.
With that said, the time of year has come, boys and girls, to pick your Christmas poison – will it be candy and presents from Santa or the switch from Krampus?
Maybe fate has already decided for you … SwOk
Medieval devils, Alpine winter traditions, St. Nicholas plays and regional customs gradually merged to create what is the modern horned and hairy, devil-like Krampus.
STORY BY: Alisa Boswell Stillwater Oklahoma Magazine
An early 20th-century Viennese postcard. Courtesy Photo by Getty Images
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