Krampus
Encyclopedia
Krampus is a mythical
creature recognized in Alpine countries. According to legend, Krampus accompanies
St. Nicholas during the Christmas
season, warning and punishing bad children, in contrast to St. Nicholas, who gives gifts to good children.
In the Alpine
regions, Krampus is represented by a demon-like creature. Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in Austria and southern Bavaria, especially the market town Berchtesgaden
, during the first two weeks of December, particularly on the evening of 5 December, and roam the streets frightening children with rusty chains and bells.
In the aftermath of the Austrian Civil War
the Krampus tradition was a target of the Dollfuss regime
.
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
creature recognized in Alpine countries. According to legend, Krampus accompanies
Companions of Saint Nicholas
The companions of Saint Nicholas are a group of closely related figures who accompany St. Nicholas in many European traditions.Some companions include:...
St. Nicholas during the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
season, warning and punishing bad children, in contrast to St. Nicholas, who gives gifts to good children.
In the Alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
regions, Krampus is represented by a demon-like creature. Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in Austria and southern Bavaria, especially the market town Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden
Berchtesgaden is a municipality in the German Bavarian Alps. It is located in the south district of Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria, near the border with Austria, some 30 km south of Salzburg and 180 km southeast of Munich...
, during the first two weeks of December, particularly on the evening of 5 December, and roam the streets frightening children with rusty chains and bells.
In the aftermath of the Austrian Civil War
Austrian Civil War
The Austrian Civil War , also known as the February Uprising , is a term sometimes used for a few days of skirmishes between socialist and conservative-fascist forces between 12 February and 16 February 1934, in Austria...
the Krampus tradition was a target of the Dollfuss regime
Austrofascism
Austrofascism is a term which is frequently used by historians to describe the authoritarian rule installed in Austria with the May Constitution of 1934, which ceased with the forcible incorporation of the newly-founded Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938...
.
See also
- PerchtaPerchtaPerchta or Berchta , also commonly known as Percht and other variations, was once known as a goddess in Southern Germanic paganism in the Alpine countries...
- Companions of Saint NicholasCompanions of Saint NicholasThe companions of Saint Nicholas are a group of closely related figures who accompany St. Nicholas in many European traditions.Some companions include:...
- BelsnickelBelsnickelBelsnickel is the fur-clad Santa of the Palatinate in southwestern Germany along the Rhine, the Saarland, and the Odenwald region of Baden-Württemberg....
- Zwarte PietZwarte PietIn the folklore and legends of the Netherlands and Belgium, Zwarte Piet is a companion of Saint Nicholas whose yearly feast in the Netherlands is usually celebrated on the evening of 5 December In the folklore and legends of the Netherlands and Belgium, Zwarte Piet (meaning Black Pete) is a...
- Le Père FouettardLe Père FouettardLe Père Fouettard is a character who accompanies St. Nicholas in his rounds during St. Nicholas' Day dispensing lumps of coal and/or floggings to the naughty children while St. Nick gives gifts to the well behaved...
- Belsnickel
- Pre-Christian Alpine traditions
- Saint NicholasSaint NicholasSaint Nicholas , also called Nikolaos of Myra, was a historic 4th-century saint and Greek Bishop of Myra . Because of the many miracles attributed to his intercession, he is also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker...
- NamahageNamahageis a Japanese ritual which is observed throughout Oga Peninsula, Akita Prefecture in northern Honshū, Japan. It is said to have originated as a ritual for cleansing people's souls, and for blessing the new year. It is a kind of toshigami....
- GrýlaGrýlaGrýla is, in Icelandic mythology, a horrifying monster and an giantess living in the mountains of Iceland. She is said to come from the mountains at Christmas in search of naughty children....