Krampusnacht and The Christmas Legend of Krampus

The Legend of Krampus and what happens if you make Santa's naughty list!

Krampus, whose name is derived from the Germanic word krampen, meaning "claw", is said to be the son of Hel in Norse mythology. The legend is part of a centuries-old Germanic Christmas traditions begin in early December of the Julian Calendar.

Hel “Hidden” is the goddess who rules over Hel, the Norse underworld where many of the dead dwell.

In Austria and across the German-speaking Alpine region, Krampus is a crucial part of the holiday season, with long horns and a goatee beard whom you might find stalking through the town, laden with bells and chains, whipping the naughty folk with bundles of sticks.

Krampus became a counterpart to Jolly old Saint Nick, who rewarded children with sweets. Krampus, in contrast, would swat the naughty children with a switch. He was grafted onto the Christian tradition of St. Nicholas, similar to figures like Zwarte Piet in the Netherlands and Knecht Ruprecht in Germany. Since the 17th century, the two have been linked in a sort of Holiday yin-yang.

According to Germanic folklore, Krampus comes to town on the eve of December 5th (Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night). According to legend, Krampus will spend the night visiting each house. He might leave bundles of sticks for the parents of bad children or he might just hit them with the sticks instead.

December 6 is Nikolaustag or Saint Nicholas Day, when German, dutch and Polish children look outside their door to see if the shoe they left out the night before contains a reward for good behavior or a switch for bad behavior.

Similar to the "Elf on a Shelf" idea, Krampus would also deliver gold-painted bundles of birch sticks to families with borderline behaved children. The families would hang the birch twigs on the wall for the rest of the year as decoration  to remind kids to to stay off the naughty list.

What about that lump of coal?

Krampus' frightening presence was suppressed for many years by the Catholic Church, partially due to Krampus resembling the Catholic image of the devil. So over time Krampusnacht has taken on some less harsh personas, including giving a lump of coal in a child's stocking rather than lashing your ill behaved child with a branch.