On to St. Nicholas and Xmas

On Facebook, from My Shelf Books & Gifts in Wellsboro PA, this 1900s greeting card featuring Krampus, the evil twin of Santa Claus:

Naughty, naughty children!

From Wikipedia:

Krampus is a beast-like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries thought to punish children during the Christmas season who had misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved ones with gifts. Krampus is said to capture particularly naughty children in his sack and carry them away to his lair.

Krampus is represented as a beast-like creature, generally demonic in appearance. The creature has roots in Germanic folklore; however, its influence has spread far beyond German borders. Traditionally young men dress up as the Krampus in Austria, Romania, southern Bavaria, South Tyrol, northern Friuli, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia during the first week of December, particularly on the evening of 5 December (the eve of Saint Nicholas Day on many church calendars), and roam the streets frightening children with rusty chains and bells. Krampus is featured on holiday greeting cards called Krampuskarten.

One Response to “On to St. Nicholas and Xmas”

  1. Michael Vnuk Says:

    It’s odd that his feet are not alike.

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