Both St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) and Krampus originated in Europe. Everyone knows Santa Claus, but you may not know Krampus. He's a hafl-man, half-goat who assisted St. Nicholas and scared bad children. Here's the story:
WHO IS KRAMPUS AROUND CHRISTMASTIME?
Every year in early December, children in Austria get ready for St. Nicholas to visit them. If they’ve been good, he’ll reward them with presents and treats. But if they’ve been bad, they’ll get a lot more than a lump of coal—they’ll have to face Krampus.
Who’s Krampus, you ask? He’s the half-man, half-goat who comes around every year to chase naughty children and maybe even drag them to hell. European versions of St. Nicholas have long had scary counterparts like Belsnickle and Knecht Ruprecht who dole out punishment. Krampus is one such character who comes from folklore in Austria’s Alpine region, where he’s been frightening children and amusing adults for hundreds of years.
Krampus and St. Nick’s other bad boys have their origins in pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Krampus – whose name is derived from the Old High German word krampen, which means “claw” – is said to be the son of Hel, the god of the underworld in Norse mythology. .Krampus carries a basket or a sack, a set of shackles, a whip and a bundle of branches for the purpose of swatting naughty children. Sometimes alongside Saint Nick and sometimes solo, Krampus visits the local homes and businesses, handing out lumps of coal and birch bundles – a sobering reminder of the dire results of being naughty.
Later, they became part of Christian traditions in which St. Nicholas visited children to reward them on December 5 or 6. Around that time, his menacing partner would also visit kids to punish them. In Alpine Austria and some parts of Germany, this day was known as Krampusnacht, or “Krampus night,” when adults might dress up as Krampus to frighten children at their homes.
Children might have also seen Krampus running through the street during a Krampuslauf—literally, a “Krampus run.” If Krampusnacht was a way to scare kids into behaving themselves, the Krampuslauf, which isn’t tied to a specific day, was a way for grown men to blow off steam while probably still scaring kids. Austrian men would get drunk and run through the streets dressed as the fearsome creature. Like Krampusnacht, the Krampuslauf tradition continues to the present day.
The introduction of mass visual media couldn’t help but sweep the charismatic Krampus up in its wave. When the postcard industry experienced a boom in Germany and Austria in the 1890s, it opened the way for Krampuskarten.
These holiday cards weren’t mean to make you feel warm and fuzzy. Ones marked “Gruss vom Krampus” (“Greetings from Krampus”) showed Krampus stuffing a distressed child into his satchel or preparing to hit one with his bundle of birch sticks. Many of these postcards depicted Krampus going after children with his sticks, leading them away in chains, or carrying them off in his bag.
Sources: History.com; and: https://www.chinadailyhk.com/articles/67/175/165/1576747407195.html
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