As the most “magical time of year”, Christmas is celebrated around the world in many different ways.  Americans await the jolly man in the red suit, but in Germany, the holiday is celebrated in an entirely different way. In fact, it’s quite scary how they choose to celebrate Christmas. Germans are known for being extravagant and over the top with their celebrations, so the “excess” is a given, however, the Germans put a spin on their “merry” holiday with their scary monster named Krampus. 

The traditional American Christmas is also set around the magical man, St. Nicholas (Santa Claus), who is a man with a big belly, rosy cheeks, and a long white beard. He has little elves who work around the clock to make toys for all the kids on the good list and coal for those on the naughty list. Santa wears a big red suit trimmed with white fur. He comes to your house in a sleigh driven by eight flying reindeer, makes his way down the chimney and delivers your presents. You can’t be awake or see Santa; that is part of how the magic works. To thank him for the gifts he has left, typically children make cookies and leave them out for Santa with a nice glass of milk and maybe even some carrots for the reindeer. Every piece of lore surrounding St. Nick is warm and inviting, and nothing about him makes you afraid to celebrate the holiday.

  However, in Germany they have the opposite kind of traditions. They celebrate around the dark counterpart of St. Nicholas — Krampus. This popular German and Austrian myth focuses on the half-goat, half-demon, Krampus. December 5th belongs to him, and if you survive that night, you might get presents from Santa; or you might be brought to hell. In some Austrian towns, residents hold a Krampus parade to remind kids that Krampus is real and will drag them to hell where he will torture and beat them if they misbehave. He usually uses sticks and branches when performing these acts on the kids, held with his “hands”, which are part hoof and part human foot. In this so-called “parade” there are scary monsters who follow and surround Krampus as his evil “elves”, if you will. They carry whips to whip the lazy, missbehaved, and drunk people, “They resemble a cross between cavemen and Vikings, with furry costumes, demonic masks, spiraling horns, whips, and torches. Some of the marchers are acrobatic, doing flips and cartwheels” (Austrian Krampus Parade). While both Germany and America celebrate Christmas in similar ways, clearly the evil side in Germany is way worse than just getting coal in your stocking. Be good out there, kids!