Last night I received a Krampus greeting from a good friend. I appreciated it, particularly since the Krampus has barely any presence in her culture. It reminded me that it was St. Nicholas' Eve, and I was thinking I should probably polish my shoes.
Shoes? St. Nicholas? Krampus???
For all those who are not familiar with the central European tradition of St. Nicholas, here's a quick run-down: On the evening of December 5th kids clean their boots eagerly, and set them outside their front door. The next morning they come to find chocolate and candy (or ideally walnuts and oranges) in their shoes if they were good. Otherwise, naughty kids get a bunch of rods (like thin birch branches), a gift from the Krampus that could be used to give them a beating. (OUCH!!) In practice, however, kids would get both, that is a bunch of rods decorated with candy, and no actual beating would take place. Parents would only remind them that they have been pretty good overall, but apparently still far from perfect.
However, during all my years in Germany I never once got to see a Krampus. Unlike the Nikolaus (Santa Claus), who would visit us in school, sometimes even at home, as well as in shopping centers, or any other possible occasion, the Krampus nowadays has gone out of fashion, so hardly anyone even mentions it any more.
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Instead, there is the figure of Knecht Ruprecht, which is sort of a servant (as not to say slave) to St. Nikolaus. Quite appropriately, Bart Simpson's dog is also called Knecht Ruprecht in the German dub. Being Santa's helper, Knecht Ruprecht is sort of like a grumpy old man (probably the same age as Santa), but while the other guy is jolly and fun, he is kinda the opposite, always grumbling about everything. But that's quite understandable. After all, he is tasked with all the grunt work and heavy lifting, without getting any appreciation for it, ever. But at least he does not hurt the kids, unlike the Krampus.
Santa's Demon Assistant
Things were quite different before my family moved to Germany. Being a kindergarten kid in Hungary, I remember being visited by both the Mikulás, as we called Saint Nicholas, and the Krampus, a black, furry character with a long tongue and horns, who would chase us around, until Santa told him to cut it out and leave. By that time, however, lots of tears had been shed, and many kids were seriously terrified.
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I remember once talking to a little friend of mine, where she was hiding under the table crying, trying to comfort her. She was seriously worried that the Krapus would do the things he never actually did, but all of us had heard about: She explained that the Krapus would catch her, stuff her into a sack head first, with her legs hanging out. Then he would pull her pants down, and beat her naked butt with the rods in front of everyone. I told her that he never really did that, and even then, only to the bad kids, and besides, he is not even real, but my poor friend remained unconvinced. I really felt sorry for her. Obviously someone (her parents?) had made her truly believe these things.
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This made me think quite a lot, maybe not right away, but over the years. What a horrible thing it is to tell kids such terrifying things, and more than that, letting them believe they're true? My own parents told me the same things too, but they always added that these are just stories to get children to behave. So from a very early age I did not believe either in Santa, or the Krampus, or Knecht Ruprecht, or the Christchild, or even God. However, I always enjoyed the stories, and I felt sorry for people who could not fully appreciate them because of actual fear. So sad, such a loss!
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The Significance of the Krampus For All Of Us
After this little introduction of weird customs from past times and strange cultures, I would like to mention some aspect of this tradition that I believe is quite important for us right now. Whether it's Santa Claus, the Krampus, God, or Big Brother, lots of time we are made to believe in some all-seeing entity that would later on punish us for being naughty. The eye in the sky (or in your apps) will know if you criticized the government, questioned the vaccination policies, spoke out against the war, or did anything else that the powers that be don't like. As a punishment your bank may refuse to give you access to your money.
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But Wait!
Please don't believe these scare tactics! This is precisely the point I was trying to make: Do not be afraid, ever! Instead speak out for or against what you truly believe you should, and then let the Krampus come! See if he's still so big and bad, when all the kids refuse to be scared! In the end, it is usually a guy dressed up in a costume, that's all.