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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. 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 AD, though there are no written sources before the end of the 16th century. Origins A person dressed as Krampus at Morzger Pass, Salzburg, Austria Its role is to punish bad children or scare them into being good. The Krampus is considered to be a half-goat, half-demon monster in some legends. 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 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 that it may have pre-Christian origins. Assisting Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, the pair visit children on the night of 5 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. The 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. For the film, see Krampus (film).ġ900s illustration of Saint Nicholas and Krampus visiting a child This article is about the folklore figure.

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