I have to
admit that we had never heard of Krampus until we watched an episode of Grimm
where the horned devil of Christmas made an appearance.
We both love
the season of lights and trees and decorations but we prefer to celebrate the
winter solstice as nature moves us from fall to winter, instead of the
religious fable and commercial overkill that marks the Christmas holiday.
I love a
good scary story, so how I missed the tales of Krampus all these years is a
mystery.
It is quite
possible the story of Krampus predates Christianity, and there has been
speculation that Krampus represents the horned god of early Paganism. At the very least Krampus has been a part
of Christmas celebrations in Germanic countries since the thirteenth century. Krampus has been the
antithesis of Saint Nickolas. Where
Saint Nick would leave the good children treats, Krampus would whip bad
children with a switch. Especially bad
children would end up in his bag or basket and be taken away to never be seen
again – I love it.
And then
there is a Christmas Horror Story yet to be seen.
Krampus: could make me like Christmas almost as much ah Halloween.
