Somewhere, I imagine, there’s a wizened, Middle European crone rolling her rheumy eyes whenever I post about Krampus. I remember Krampus WHEN…! Much as I now shake my head at all those whippersnappers who’ve since appropriated the Alpine demon. I was appropriating Krampus before it was cool, introducing a glass devil’s head ornament to the family Christmas tree some 30 years ago. Now Krampus has become a veritable industry, with dolls, mugs, sweaters, and at least one major motion picture. This year I stumbled across a Krampus BADvent calendar and I had to kick myself (with cloven hoof), since the “treats” behind each door were basically ripped from the subject matter of all my dark Christmas posts over the past nine years, about Black Peter, Mari Lywd, the Yule Lads, and Befana the Christmas witch. The Man ruined rock ‘n’ roll, and now he’s coming for Krampus!

In case you’re not up on your Krampus lore, on December 5, the eve of Saint Nicholas’ Day, it is customary for an egregiously-horned, whiplash-tongued demon to emerge from his mountain lair, festooned in chains and cow bells, to accompany the Patron Saint of Children on his rounds. To all the good boys and girls, Saint Nick bestows small gifts; the bad are handed over to Krampus.

Garden-variety naughtiness earns the sting of a switch; but the especially ill-behaved are clapped in irons, taken for a short ride in a wicker basket, and then drowned in a stream or immolated by hellfire. With mounting anxiety a thousand times worse than the anticipation of a bad report card, a wee sinner pulls the sweat-soaked blankets over his head and begins to pray vociferously for a stocking full of coal.

It used to be that there were one or two books of vintage postcards, and those out of print and difficult to get a hold of. Now Krampus has become something of a shadow industry. Hardly surprising, as bad behavior has become pretty much mainstream.

There’s even a sizeable feature in today’s Washington Post. I want my subversive Christmas demon back!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/of-interest/2023/12/05/krampus-scary-santa-christmas/