Who in Hell is Krampus?
is the dark counterpart of Saint Nicholas, the traditional European
gift-bringer who visits on his holy day of December 6th, a few weeks
earlier than his offshoot Mr. Claus. Like his American descendant, the
bishop-garbed St. Nicholas rewards good kids with gifts and treats;
unlike the archetypal Santa, however, St. Nicholas never punishes
naughty children, parceling out this task to a ghastly helper from
below.
Known by many names across the continent, such as Knecht Ruprecht,
Klaubauf, Pelzebock, Schmutzli and Krampus, this figure is unmistakably
evil; he often appears as a traditional red devil with cloven hoof and
goatish horns, although he can also be spotted as an old bearded
wild-man or a huge hairy beast. He comes to punish the naughty
children, and is often depicted carrying them in chains or in a basket
to a fiery place below.
December 5th and 6th, in Austria, Switzerland, Croatia, Germany and
other regions of European, children greet kindly St. Nicholas with his
bag of toys and sweets only to find the Saint's devilish assistant
trailing behind. Hideously costumed as a devil or wild man with a
whipping switch or chains, Krampus comes to frighten the mischievous
children into contrition.
On the eve of St. Nicholas Day, also known as Krampusnacht (Night of
Krampus), in Austria and other areas, sin-loving folk dressed as
devils, wild-men and witches begin the ancient ritual known today as
the Krampus Run. Often intoxicated and bearing torches, these beastly
demons caper, cavort and carouse as they make their way through the
streets, scaring child and adult alike.
The popular European practice of guising and mumming during the winter
solstice season, ie. using masks and drama to play mythic figures, in
this case bearded Old Man Winter and the horned Goat-Man, can be
credibly traced back tens of thousands of years, long before the
purported birthday of Jesus Christ.
Krampus comes of Age
Santa Claus was expanding shop and selling product in mid-1800s
America, the holiday greeting card craze exploded in Europe, with
printed cards filling mailboxes and post offices each winter. In
Austria, Germany, and other central and north Europe regions, the
figure of Krampus became a focus of attention, with thousands of
compelling postcards designed and printed for season's greetings, many
emblazoned with "Grüß Vom Krampus" (Greeting from Krampus). The peak of
the Krampus card craze was from the turn of the century to the
beginning of WWI in 1914.
Obviously Krampus represents the naughty side of the season, as sexual
connotations abound in the postcards, in countless suggestive and
cheeky examples. While the lurid and transgressive images paraded in
the cards are suffused with a modern sense of the comic and the
surreal, as well as the spirit of Saturnalian excess, some images seem
to embody a genuine touch of primordial fear and dark animism.
collector's market for original and reproduction Krampus cards has been
on the rise, and the image of Krampus is popping up across the cultural
landscape. This is due mainly to Monte Beauchamp, the editor of BLAB! magazine
and a collector of Krampus and devil-related postcards. He reintroduced
the irresistible Krampus cards nearly a century after their heyday, and
his
The Devil in Design
Santa the Punisher?
in America, the rise of a new Father Christmas icon, a modernized St.
Nicholas called Santa Claus, plays a central role in recreating the
'traditional' Christmas, a mildly pagan if nominally Christian holiday.
The American St. Nick no longer brings his infernal assistant, but
instead incorporates some of the elements found in Krampus and his ilk.
This traditional American Santa Claus places coal in bad children's
stockings and is occasionally depicted as a punishing figure, sometimes
even with a whiff of pagan horror. And like Krampus, Santa seems to
knows everyone's moral state, as famously described in the 1932 song
'Santa Claus is Coming to Town': 'He knows if you've been bad or good.'
over the decades Santa Claus seems to have lost his punishing edge. In
this age of consumerism there are very few children who receive a lump
of coal in their stockings, or a gift of cleaning supplies under the
tree. Is not the service that Krampus provides sorely needed in the
land of spoiled and dissatisfied children?
Krampus on the Comeback
the guising and mumming traditions of the winter season can be
recognized in the ever popular Halloween holiday (with its costume
parties and roving Trick or Treaters), a growing movement to celebrate
in similar fashion around early December is afoot. The growth of
Krampusnacht parties in urban centers like New York and San Francisco
seems to be just the beginning.
Santacon, also known as Santarchy, is a world-wide phenomenon started in 1994 by the Bay Area-based Cacophony Society.
On a selected day in early December, scores of revellers dressed in
cheap Santa Claus suits descend on shopping centers and other public
areas to the shock and consternation of the uninformed. The event is
now held in cities in the U.S. and Canada, as well as Australia, Korea,
Norway, France, Ireland and other countries.
Santarchy and Krampusnacht celebrations are starting to proliferate, a
general bleeding of Halloween into Christmas has taken place in
mainstream culture, with the popularity of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
and other Christmas books, movies and merchandise with horror elements
and transgressive themes, such as the ever popular evil Santa Claus.
A Devilish Holiday Season
Although its distant pagan origins are mostly repressed, Xmas
gift-giving and its folklore and customs still embody the pre-Christian
European winter solstice tradition. In the dark recesses of our
cultural consciousness the link between the Goat-horned Devil and Saint
Nick is clear. With the rising popularity of Krampus across the globe,
we rediscover the potent holiday devil archetype who rules over this
age-old festival season.
Source: krampus.com
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