The Krampus tale sounds straight out of the Middle Ages, and unsurprisingly, its in the Middle Ages we have our first written record of the Krampus or multiples thereof (Krumpuses or Krampi? A gaggle of Krampi? A Murder of Krampuses?!).<\/p>
Textual evidence appears from the late 16th Century, according to a volume of work published in German by Hans Schubladen (1983\u20131984) \u2018On the history of Perchten customs in the Berchtesgadener Land, in Tyrol and Salzburg from the 16th to the 19th century. Basics for the analysis of today's understanding of tradition<\/em>\u2019.<\/p> The unseemly beast most likely derives its name from the Austro-Bavarian \u2018Krampn<\/em>\u2019 meaning \u2018dead\u2019 &\/or \u2018rotten\u2019 or the middle German word for \u2018claw\u2019 now used to mean cramps, as in the spasm of muscle.<\/p> The Krampus\u2019 earlier roots are unsurprisingly pagan and likely lay in pre-christian Alpine folk traditions celebrating the arrival of Winter and the shortest day, but our records have a gaping black hole.<\/p> Pagan traditions were oral ones, without a tendency to write down or record a record of practices, customs or beliefs and several waves of violent inquisitions from the 12-16th century heavily suppressed traditions such as these.<\/p> Many folk traditions had survived through Christianity\u2019s arrival to the Alps in the 7thC, but for over 400 years such practices could result in violent death sentences following confessions extracted through torture. Thousands were burnt at the stake in Austria, Germany and Italy for heresy or witchcraft during this period.<\/p> However, thanks to the relatively isolated nature of Alpine communities, some semblance of folk practices survived the inquisition and began to rise again in popularity from the 16thC onwards with the reappearance of intricately carved wooden face masks.<\/p> Eventually the Church incorporated the Krampus (and other similar figures) into the procession of Saint Nicholas (6th December), where he acted as a counterpart to the gift bringing Saint, bringing punishment and the threat of Hell to sinners. The Krampus night, proceeded this on December 5th, perhaps as a means to encourage good behaviour and prayer.<\/p> If Saint Nicholas was the carrot then Krampus was now (quite literally) the stick.<\/p> Popularity & prohibition<\/strong><\/p> By the 19th century the Krampus was back with a vengeance! The Krampusnacht (Krampus night) was in full swing throughout the Alpine regions and variants of the night appeared throughout Europe from Austria to the Netherlands, even in areas of the US like Pensilvania. The event encouraged the revival of traditional alpine crafts like wooden mask carving and provided a much needed celebration and release for small communities in a difficult time of the year.<\/p> Krampus cards became popular things to send even as far as the UK and the Krampus a popular character for illustrators to draw. The imagery presented in this period sees the Krampus take on features such as horns, hoofed feet, a forked tongue and a tail.<\/p> Some of these features are synonymous with earlier pagan gods such as Pan, or Cernnunos and may be surprisingly accurate descriptions to the pre-christian folk tradition. Others are straight out of the church\u2019s demon playbook (including some anti-semitic imagery).<\/p> In some images Krampus is still seen to hold a bundle of birch branches, in others this bundle becomes a broom on which he carries naughty children off to hell. Some imagery bypasses this altogether and simply has him hold the devils pitchfork and painted red.<\/p> This association with hell and with sin again draw the wrath of not just the church but several fascist governments in the early 20th century and there are again, several prohibitions against the Krampus.<\/p> In 1932, Austria, Krampus was prohibited by the Dollfuss regime under the clerical fascist \u2018Fatherland Front<\/em>\u2019 (Vaterl\u00e4ndische Front) and the Christian Social Party<\/em>. Despite a revived interest in pre-christian Germanic heritage, even the Nazi party banned the Krampus, associating it with Satanism.<\/p> In the 1950\u2019s the Austrian government also produced anti-Krampus pamphlets entitled \u201cKrampus Is an Evil Man<\/em>\" highlighting (probably quite fairly) concerns about the impact the threat of hell might have on a child\u2019s mental health.<\/p> The culture has shifted somewhat since, thankfully further away from terrorising small children and beating them with sticks, although adults may not be so safe from a good lashing!<\/p> Krampus today.<\/strong><\/p> Events happening now exist on a sliding scale from crazed anti-social ruckuses to kid friendly displays. Most town centre daytime events are more focused on children with religious terrorism and light battery now being exchanged for cheeky gifts of coal and comedic skits, usually in friendly partnership with Saint Nicholas.<\/p> One thing to note here is how many variations likely derived from the same original source as the Krampus be found across Europe and often fall only into the \u2018family friendly\u2019 category. Belschnickel and Knecht Ruprecht can be found across Germany, Schmutzli in Switzerland, and Schwartz Piet in the Netherlands (who became somewhat problematic when his imagery progressed from soot faced to black faced\u2026 like the awkward cousin at a wedding disco, we\u2019ll skirt around that one for now.) These characters tend to carry the birch branch rod still (though it isn\u2019t used), but also pockets full of nuts and cakes for good children or those in need.<\/p> On the crazier side..<\/p> In recent years, headlines have been made in Tyrol of Krampus on the rampage. Young men wearing wooden masks (essential for any truly liberated behaviour!), have taken to reigning animistic terror on towns folk, with as many as 60 people hospitalised on Krampus night in 2019!<\/p> Most of the injuries arose of course from running away or wrestling bar tables (a traditional Krampusnacht past-time!), hopefully not too many of the injuries came from the birch branch lashings!<\/p> The taste left in the mouth after attending these events is not a punitive one, but rather a liberating one, an acceptance that all have sinned to some extent of the year. Whether you run from it; fight it; or take the lashings: the laughter, the exhilaration, the sheer thrill is cathartic. 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