The Feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated in South Tyrol on 6 December. Saint Nicholas has a devilish companion named Krampus. On the preceding evening (today), Krampus Night or Krampusnacht, the hairy devil appears on the streets. Sometimes accompanying St. Nicholas and sometimes on his own, Krampus visits homes and businesses. The Saint usually appears in the Eastern Rite vestments of a bishop, and he carries a ceremonial staff. Unlike North American versions of Santa Claus, in these celebrations Saint Nicholas concerns himself only with the good children, while Krampus is responsible for the bad. Nicholas dispenses gifts, while Krampus supplies coal and the ruten bundles. (Font: Wikipedia).
12 comments:
Autsch … what a scary face :) Nice
As I child I always was visited by Saint Nicholas who was far more benevolent than this, without Krampus!
Wow, a pending visit from this guy would scare me into being a good kid.
My thoughts are the same as Sharon's. If I were a kid, I would be scared into being good to avoid being confronted by anyone who looked like that.
That is a scary character...
Now he looks fierce!
Have a friend who collects ethnic masks, and this one is terrific. I'm sure kids would be terrified if this fellow showed up. Interesting Christmas traditions. Thanks for the post.
I'm glad that Nikolaus is coming tonight and not Krampus. Yes, I know I'm too old for it but my Mum doesn't seem to care... :-)
Well, kids like to be scared, and this creature would certainly do that!
Oh la! That's one scary Krampus Karl :))
What a fantastic mask!
Holy cow. If I were a kid, Krampus would scare my socks off.
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