Devil from Europe. Who is Krampus

In the West, they will soon celebrate Christmas, but few people know that along with Santa, his friend named Krampus comes to people. And this friend does not at all look like a kind old man distributing gifts to children, but rather the opposite. That is what we will talk about today.

KRAMPUS - CHRISTMAS DEMON.

Who is Krampus? I must say right away that he comes from Austria, where this demonic character is an important part of the Christmas holidays. In fact, he is the embodiment of the devil, with his characteristic horns and goatee. In Austria, you can meet him on Christmas greeting cards, on sweets or embodied in holiday figurines. Also, if you are in Austria during the Christmas season, you may run into Krampus at a costumed parade in his honor.

DECEMBER 5 BELONG TO KRAMPUS. AND ONLY IF YOU SURVIVED THIS DAY, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE GIFTS.

December 5 is the day Krampus rules the Catholic world. In Austria this day is called Krampusnacht. On this day, young people wear carved wooden masks, bells, chains and creepy costumes. They walk the streets and pester passers-by. Earlier on this day, people stayed at home, because on December 5, young people in Krampus costumes could beat anyone to death and they would have nothing for it. On this day, Krampus hunts children, more precisely, naughty children. If he manages to catch the little rascal, he throws him into his bag and flies straight to hell, doing all the dirty work for a kind old man with a white beard.

On December 6, Santa Claus arrives and good replaces evil. In other words, Krampus has already taken the bad boys and girls and Santa Claus can no longer doubt that he has only kids who behaved well the previous year.

KRAMPUS ALTHOUGH A MONSTER, BUT HE IS A FRIEND OF SANTA CLAUS.

Initially, Krampus was a purely pagan creature that came from Scandinavian mythology, but the Catholic Church decided to associate him with the Christian tradition and make him friends with St. Nicholas (now Santa Claus). Since the 17th century, Santa Claus and Krampus have become a kind of Catholic Christmas yin-yang. Santa Claus brings gifts, but Krampus appears in front of him bringing pain.

KRAMPUS BEATS EVERYONE WITH HIS WHIP.

Krampus, according to legend, whips people with his birch rod, thereby showing that he is Satan in the flesh. You say that today everything is for fun, because today you can’t just beat someone like that, right? And here you are wrong. Here is a description of a tourist who was expecting to attend a costume parade and came home with scars from blows and torn clothes:

"The narrow streets of the old city of Salzburg were packed with people, and people dressed as Krampus were walking through them, not paying any attention to them. Tourists were taken by surprise and had a real physical experience from contact with Satan. Some fled and tried to seek refuge in shops and restaurants but the Krampus found them there too.People became easy targets, everyone ran wherever they looked.Sometimes we were chased, pushed and beaten, but compared to the cruelty that we observed, it was obvious that we were spared the cruelty that was happening on the Austrian streets a century ago."

KRAMPUS HALF MAN, HALF DEVIL

Early 1900s. Postcard with Krampus

Krampus has many different looks. He can be the twin brother of the devil, a bat, a goat, a creepy snowman... As a rule, horns and animal skin are used in the image.

Krampus traditionally has a long tongue, almost to the stomach, and one human leg and one goat (Satan) leg.

AUSTRIAN MOTHERS SCARED THEIR Naughty CHILDREN WITH KRAMPUS ALL YEAR ROUND.

As far back as 1958, according to available documentary evidence, Austrian families hung birch brooms on the walls of their houses as decoration and as a reminder of the Krampus for their naughty children. And all these brooms hung for a reason. For each wrongdoing, one twig was obtained from the broom, with which the offending child was beaten. If by the end of the year the broom was completely consumed, then the child was not destined to see the gifts of Santa Claus and that he was waiting for a meeting with his friend from the underworld.

KRAMPUS HAS BEEN BANNED BY THE FASCISTS.

When Austria was under the rule of Nazi Germany, Krampus became a symbol of sin, anti-Christian ideals. The newspaper of the Austrian Catholic Union called for a boycott of Krampus. The Krampus holiday (December 5) was banned, and anyone who dressed up as Santa's friend went to jail for violating the law. After the war, in 1953, the head of the Vienna kindergarten system published a pamphlet calling Krampus an "evil man".

THE LOOK OF KRAMPUS IS BECOME POPULAR IN THE US

Krampus becomes a popular hero on the other side of the ocean. Films are being made about him in the States and more and more American cities are trebling Krampus festivals like the Austrian one. Los Angeles, in particular, has been the capital of Krampus Day celebrations for several years in a row, and the Museum of Pathological Anatomy in Brooklyn hosts an annual costume ball.

So terror and fear are becoming commonplace in American society, even against the backdrop of Catholic Christmas.

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Christmas, despite the obvious religious connotation of this holiday, is celebrated not only by believers: gathering at a common family table and delighting each other with gifts has long become a good tradition for many people.

Christmas traditions and legends are so closely intertwined with the pagan folklore of various peoples that traveling around different countries at the end of the year, you can meet anyone - from the Dutch Negro Pete, climbing into the house through the chimney, to 13 Icelandic Santas and their baby-stealing cannibal moms. We invite you to plunge into the atmosphere of Christmas stories and at the same time remember if you behaved too badly this year?

1. Krampus

In some European countries, legends about Krampus, Santa's evil twin brother or his negative alter ego have been circulating since ancient times - instead of wishing a Merry Christmas and distributing gifts, Anti-Santa is looking for negligent children all over the world and punishes them. Krampus Night is celebrated on the eve of Saint Nicholas Day (December 6 according to the Catholic calendar), a preacher who is believed to be the prototype of Santa Claus.

During the celebration of Anti-Santa, crowds of aggressive young people dressed as Krampus walk the streets of European cities, looking for a reason to fight, and the festivities are accompanied by copious alcoholic libations and loud songs. Participants in these events quite often receive injuries of varying severity, so in recent years, the governments of some countries oblige the celebrants to wear armbands with numbers to make it easier to find the offenders among them.

It is believed that in appearance Krampus is something like a devil with a shaggy skin, cloven hooves and goat horns, but the pretentiousness of the costumes walking on Krampus Night is limited only by their imagination and the availability of materials - among them you can see a wide variety of "monsters" and "monsters".

The tradition is gradually spreading beyond Europe: for example, this year the Krampusfest, held in Los Angeles, became a real sensation.

2. Yule cat

In our country, naughty kids are taken away by Gray Top or Baba Yaga, and Icelanders are frightened from childhood by the Yule cat, which visits houses at Christmas and can kidnap and eat boys and girls who have not done anything good for a year and, in addition, have been seen in hooliganism. For diligent children, the fluffy “guardian of morals” leaves gifts.

According to legend, in order to avoid the attack of the Yule Cat, it is necessary to acquire warm woolen clothes for the Christmas holidays, which will let the four-legged prankster understand that the person managed to buy a new thing, which means that he did not waste a year in vain.

Apparently, the fear of the cruel but fair Christmas Cat is an excellent motivator for this northern people: according to statistics, Icelanders work overtime more often than the vast majority of residents of other European countries.

3. Frau Perchta

In German and Austrian folk tales, a witch known as Frau Perchta is quite common. For 12 days after Christmas, she prowls from house to house, distributes gifts to the righteous, and makes sinners suffer, for example, tearing and pulling out internal organs and replacing them with garbage and dirt.

In honor of Frau Perchta, the Austrians arrange Christmas processions and festivities, somewhat similar to the celebration of Krampus Night, although the “fans” of Perchta are not so aggressive and, with rare exceptions, are not prone to alcohol abuse - the celebrations are more family in nature.

Experts in European folklore are sure that the legends about Frau Perchta are most directly connected with the cult of the ancient goddess Perchta, who lives in the forest for most of the year and comes out “to people” only after Christmas. Some experts note the similarity of the legends about Perkhta with the Italian legends about Befana, but others are sure that there is nothing in common between them: despite the repulsive appearance, Befana is a purely positive fairy-tale creature - she does not punish the guilty children, but gives everyone toys and sweets.

4. Belsnickel

The legends of some southeastern regions of Germany speak of Belsnickel - a shaggy tramp in shabby clothes made of animal skins, who, on the eve of Christmas, encourages good children with sweets, and brings up tomboys and lazy people with rods.

By his behavior, Belsnickel resembles Krampus, only he is not so bloodthirsty and cruel: most often the spirit does not use assault, only warning children that on Christmas each of them should behave approximately.

During the years of active development of the American continent by Europeans, along with the settlers, the tradition of “meetings” with Belsnickel came to America: for example, in one of the districts of Pennsylvania, this mythical character is almost as popular as Santa Claus.

5. Hans Trapp

Another "Anti-Santa", this time from Alsace and Lorraine (north-eastern regions of France), bears the name of Hans Trapp. According to legend, Trapp was a cruel and greedy rich man who made a pact with the devil, for which he was excommunicated and sent to live in the forest to protect the French (especially children) from his corrupting influence.

The link did not help much: the villain, disguised as a straw scarecrow, began to hunt for lost babies and eat them. Once the Lord heeded the prayers of a boy caught by Trapp and struck the wicked with lightning, but even this failed to completely calm the villain: every year on Christmas, dressed up with a straw scarecrow, he returns to this world and frightens misbehaving children.

6. Per Fuetar

The “dark side” of Per Noel, the French Santa Claus, is Per Fuetard, who accompanies the main Christmas wizard on his wanderings and tells him how this or that child behaved during the year.

In the old days, the French believed that one Christmas butcher lured three little boys into his shop, killed them and cooked all sorts of "delicacies" from children's meat. But the cannibal did not have time to eat them to satiety: Saint Nicholas came to the aid of the innocently killed, who resurrected the victims, and took the butcher himself under his care.

Since then, every year on December 6, a couple of Per Noel and Per Fuetar come to Earth and look for mischievous and tomboys in order to teach them a lesson, and good boys and exemplary girls receive from the “Father of Christmas” and his companion the well-deserved obedience and diligence reward.

7. Zwarte Pete

The names of the Dutch Santa Claus helpers correspond to the English Black Peter (Black Peter). Unlike most other fairy-tale creatures in this collection, Zwarte Pity are not too similar to fantastic monsters - in appearance they are boys (in some legends - negrites), covered from head to toe in soot.

On behalf of Sintaklaas (the Dutch version of Santa Claus), in order to leave gifts for the children, the Petes have to enter the houses through the chimney, and then get out the same way.

On St. Nicholas Day, the Dutch Santa Claus and his Negro children arrive in the Netherlands from Spain on a steamboat, and in the middle of the 19th century, children in the country were frightened that Zwarte Pity and Sintaklaas could take them with them. Apparently, in those days, Spain was considered an extremely inhospitable place, but, most likely, the long-term enmity of these two European powers affected.

8. Yolasweinar

For centuries, Icelanders have been compiling legends and songs about the insidious Jolasveinars, or, as they are also called, the Yule Boys, who arrange various dirty tricks and practical jokes on Christmas. Some legends describe the Yolasveinars as harmless mischievous people stealing all sorts of little things from the house, others say that the Guys are more like ferocious monsters, quite capable of, for example, eating a child. The number of Yolasveinar changed from legend to legend, and at present it is generally accepted that there are a damn dozen of them, and the Yule Cat, already known to you, goes everywhere with them.

Until the beginning of the 20th century, Guys were considered not very respected characters, but after the legends of Santa Claus penetrated Iceland, the inhabitants there wanted to have their own positive Christmas hero, and for lack of more suitable ones, they took the Yolasveinarov to this “role”.

Traditionally, Icelandic boys and girls on each of the 13 nights leading up to Christmas leave their shoes outside for the Yule Boys to put various gifts in shoes and shoes, of course, only to those children who behaved well during the year. It is interesting that Santa Clauses from Iceland are noticeably different from each other and do not like to be confused, so each of them has his own gifts.

9. Grila

The bloodthirsty cannibal giantess Grila completes the selection of heroes of Christmas legends. This image has been found in Icelandic legends since ancient times, but it was not until the 17th century that Greela began to be called the mother of the Yule Lads and became associated with Christmas.

Icelandic folklore says that the giantess lives in a mountain cave with her 13 offspring, a lazy and negligent husband named Leppaludi (for her this marriage was the third in a row) and a huge black Yule Cat as a pet.

Such a “saturated” family life endowed Grila with cruelty and treachery: the villain kidnaps little Icelanders (especially those who “distinguished themselves” with pranks during the year) and serves them to her Christmas table.

In Iceland, Grila is considered so powerful that in 2010, the news agency The Onion even blamed her for the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

Santa Claus has long been a symbol of Christmas. He brings joy and gifts to all good girls and boys. But if you are a child from Germany, Austria or other regions of the Alps, someone much darker, mischievous and grumpy may come to you, hiding in the shadow of St. Nicholas. This is Krampus, the demon of Christmas.

This beast is a creature with fangs, a furry skin and long branching horns. Krampus announces his presence with loud bells and terrorizes children who have been misbehaving throughout the year. While Santa is handing out good gifts and joy, Krampus is handing out bad guys with a whip (made of birch branches and horsehair) and nightmares. As for naughty children, Krampus throws them into a bag (or into a wicker basket on his back) and takes them away to his lair - to the underworld, after which no one ever sees them.

So how did this mythological beast become part of Christmas?

High in the European countries of the Alps, where Krampus was born, or, more precisely, where his legend was created - it is worth looking for the origins there. The word "Krampus" comes from the old German word "krampen" which means "claw". In Norse mythology, Krampus is the son of Heli, the goddess of the underworld. There are also some physical similarities between Krampus and the Greek mythical creatures - these are the horns and hooves of satyrs and fauns.

Scholars have calculated that the Krampus began to appear in folklore around the 13th century, if not earlier, perhaps in the 11th century. Originating in Southern Germany and Austria (the area known as Bavaria), the creature moved to other European countries such as Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and even some Alpine villages in Italy, sometimes with variations in name, appearance, and behavior. For example, in Tyrol (in Western Austria), Krampus looks like a giant teddy bear with sadistic tendencies. In West Germany, he travels with Santa Claus, sitting with a gun in his sleigh. In Styria (southeast Austria), gold-dyed birch sticks that the beast uses as a whip hang on houses all year round to remind children of the imminent arrival of Krampus, who will punish them for bad deeds.

According to Al Ridenour, the organizer of Krampusfest in Los Angeles, this is due to the isolation of communities in regions that have their own vision of this creature:

“Long before the spread of any standard image, the isolation of the Alpine population caused strong regional differences. The original Krampus was a shapeless ghost and existed only in oral tradition, he received a free form of appearance thanks to parents and storytellers who told the same legend in their own way.

After the adoption of Christianity in this region, Krampus was not forgotten, but only slightly changed to fit the changing customs. He ceased to be associated with pagan traditions, a new legend chained him to show his diabolical origin and rejection by the church. Krampus was soon attached to Saint Nicholas, the Christian saint and owner of his holiday, which was celebrated on December 6th. Saint Nicholas would not be closely associated with Christmas until the beginning of the 19th century, when he began to be associated with Santa Claus, whose image came from Dutch folklore.

In many parts of Germany and Austria, St. Nicholas has long stood apart from Christmas. In order to create a bond between these two magical characters, Krampus was rewarded with his own holiday, Krampusnacht (Krampus Night), which was celebrated on December 5, the day before the Feast of Saint Nicholas. Children put baskets outside, in which the saint was supposed to put gifts and sweets. Krampus, on his night, flew around the city, making loud frightening sounds. There was a tradition among adults to offer Krampus a drink of warm vodka.

Despite the change of faith, some pagan traditions have survived to this day, namely, Santa continues to carry bells with him, which are usually used in the ritual of protection from evil spirits. As already mentioned, the appearance of his dark "colleague" also refers to ancient pagan ideas.

The legend of Krampus, along with other German pagan stories, was restored to people's memory in the 19th century. Part of this is due to the German folk tales that the Brothers Grimm gave a second life in the early 1800s. Krampus was described by Jacob Grimm in 1835 in the book Teutonic Mythology. Following this, paintings and gift cards began to appear that depicted Krampus in his “dirty deeds”. Exchanging such postcards with the words "Hello from Krampus" in Europe at the end of the 19th century was a way to wish happy holidays. The images on such cards, as a rule, were vulgar, even with a few sexual connotations, for example, Krampus was depicted there, scaring half-naked pretty young ladies.

Krampus, however, has not always been accepted by European traditions. In 1934, four years before the Third Reich swept through Germany and Austria, the New York Times published an article with the headline "Krampus Loved in Fascist Austria." The article propagated the idea that the creature was a patron of the Fascist government and claimed that it was even a socialist. When the Fascist government fell after World War II, Krampus was allowed to walk the streets again during the Christmas holidays.

More recently, Krampus has enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in America with festivals around the country, including in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and New York.

So when someone wishes you happy holidays this year, feel free to say, “Don’t let Krampus carry your child away in his basket.”

Krampus is a mythological character in Christmas folklore, the companion of Santa Claus. On the eve of the Christmas holiday, Krampus accompanies Santa Claus, punishing naughty children and scaring them, and also tempts women and engages in all sorts of indecency with them. When Krampus finds the naughty child, he stuffs it into his sack and takes the frightened child into a cave to eat for Christmas dinner. In older versions of the legends, Krampus kidnaps children and takes them to his creepy castle, and then dumps them into the sea.

Krampus is depicted as a furry demon with long horns and claws. Legends of Krampus go back to pagan times and were associated with the arrival of winter and the decrease in daylight hours. They were distributed in the territory of modern Austria, Germany, Hungary and northern Italy. However, over time, the attitude towards the Krampus has changed a lot. Currently, Krampus, although he appears in a terrible and evil form, is still a character of the Christmas holidays.

According to other versions, the name Krampus comes from the old German dialects common in Austria. There, the word krampus was found in the names of figurines made from dried plums, and meant - withered, dried, lifeless. The action itself takes place at the beginning of winter and precedes the onset of the darkest time of the year. Krampus personified the evil spirits of winter and, with their terrible appearance, reminded people of their inevitable arrival, of the onset of a long, cold and dark season.

During the spread of Christianity, the Krampus became the personification of devils and other evil spirits. The appearance of the Krampus changed in accordance with the changing ideas about the terrible and repulsive appearance of humanoid creatures. During the time of Christianity, he acquired the "devil-like" appearance of a shaggy creature with burning eyes, terrible teeth and horns. This is how it has survived to this day. According to old beliefs, Krampus is the ancient horned god of fertility, which is why he can attack a woman with quite unambiguous intentions.

The holiday, “Krampusiana”, has been preserved, it takes place on December 4-6. Unlike previous times, this action has become cheerful, setting people in a good mood. With the onset of darkness, many people dressed in animal skins and terrible masks with horns and fangs appear. Very often they are hung with chains, cow bells and other "noisy" pieces of iron, mummers stick to passers-by, scare children and create maximum noise and confusion on the streets.

Krampus gets his name from the old German word for claw. In Austria, Saint Nicholas, who is called Santa Claus, travels from house to house on Christmas Eve with his helper, a terrible demon called Krampus.

Krampus is a red-faced, goat-horned demon who is covered in shaggy, black fur. Chains hang on his body and he rings a big bell. He has a long red tongue hanging from his mouth, a tail and in his hands he has a large stick and a black bag.

On Christmas Eve, Austrian children place their shoes on the windowsill or outside their bedroom. While they sleep, Santa Claus and Krampus come to their house. If the children behaved well, Santa leaves them candy and treats in their boots. If they misbehave, Krampus hits them with a stick. If the children behaved very badly, then Krampus puts them in a bag and throws them into the river.

Just imagine: Christmas, you just watched a Christmas movie with your family and sang songs by the fireplace. Then you go to bed when suddenly, a huge shaggy, horned monster bursts into your bedroom, behind which chains are dragged and he rings a bell. He pounces on you and hits you on the head with a stick, and you call your parents for help. Then he puts you in a bag and takes you away, while your parents stand by and do nothing. And then he brings you to the river, throws you into the water and you drown. And all because you behaved very badly during the year.

The legend of Krampus became so popular that the story of him spread throughout Europe. This character has become especially popular in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy.

Today, Krampus Day is December 5th. In provincial towns, some men wear furs, heavy boots and hideous horned masks. Then, banging with sticks and jingling chains and bells, they go through the city, visiting houses where there are small children. When parents open doors for them, they begin to terrorize children: they growl and wave their stick in the air. Children scream and cry. After the children have been given a good scare, the parents invite the guests to sit down at the table for a drink.

Here are some eyewitness accounts.

"I lived in Austria for a long time and I remember that Krampus often walked around our city. This is one of the scariest moments I experienced when I was a child. It is also one of the biggest adrenaline rushes, because the threat is real enough. One day, Krampus saw my friends and me and started chasing us We jumped over the fence and ran through the back yard but Krampus kept chasing us anyway If he catches you he usually gives you a good slap on the legs, hmm yes it hurts And it's really scary. I still can't forget this horror experienced in childhood "- Christophe.

"I'm Austrian and I know Krampus well, because as a child he beat me several times" - Nina.

"My family lived in Germany when I was little. My siblings and I had a great opportunity to meet Krampus every Christmas. And for a child, it was really scary! Krampus would come to our house, we would line up and he would ask us questions , whether we behaved well during the year. He had a big bag from which children's arms and legs stuck out and children's cries and groans were heard from it. Krampus beat, so the bag was whipped. Oh, believe me, we really did not want to be in this poke!" - Gavin.

Now, when you were sure that Christmas is the only time of the year when there is nothing to worry about, remember Krampus.