Krampus
Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure described as \”half-goat, half-demon\”, who, during the Christmas season, punishes children who have misbehaved. This contrasts with Saint Nicholas, who rewards the well-behaved with gifts. He is hairy, usually black, and has the cloven hooves and horns of a goat. His long, tongue and he has chains thought to symbolize the binding of the Devil.
About Krampus in brief
Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure described as \”half-goat, half-demon\”, who, during the Christmas season, punishes children who have misbehaved. This contrasts with Saint Nicholas, who rewards the well-behaved with gifts. The origin of the figure is unclear; some folklorists and anthropologists have postulated it as having pre-Christian origins. In traditional parades and in such events as the Krampuslauf, young men dressed as Krampu participate. Krampsus is featured on holiday greeting cards called Krampuskarten. He is hairy, usually black, and has the cloven hooves and horns of a goat. His long, tongue and he has chains thought to symbolize the binding of the Devil. The chains are sometimes accompanied by bells of various sizes. The birch may have a connection with the initiation rites of certain witch-covens; rites which entailed binding and scourging as a form of mock-death. Some Ruten, bundles of birch branches that he carries and with which he occasionally carries swats, are replaced with a whip in some representations.
Ruten may have been introduced in a Christian attempt to ‘bind the Devil’ but again they could be a remnant of pagan initiation rites. Of more pagan origins are the origins of the Ruten which are the same as the pagan Ruten of Hell. Some people believe that KrampUS is the son of Hel, Norse goddess of the underworld, but this connection is likely the invention of the American fantasy artist and author Gerald Brom, whose 2012 novel Kramps the Yule Lord features Kramps as the main protagonist. In 2019 there were reports of drunken or disorderly conduct by masked Krampuses in some Austrian towns. In the aftermath of the 1932 election in Austria, the Kramps tradition was prohibited by the Dollfuss regime under the clerical fascist Fatherland’s Front and the Christian Social Party. Towards the end of the century, a popular resurgence of Krampusa celebrations occurred and continues today. The KrampUs tradition is being revived in Bavaria as well, along with a local artistic tradition of hand-carved wooden masks.
You want to know more about Krampus?
This page is based on the article Krampus published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 10, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
