"Why are you so fascinated with Krampus?" my niece Naomi asked trying to get a handle on all of the Krampus figures, pictures, and the small black Krampus tree stationed in the dining room. I'm sure I rattled off some quick and glib answer but wanted to really explore this whole obsession that I share with so many others.
For those that are unfamiliar with this yuletide devil, Krampus accompanies St. Nicolas on his trek through the mountain villages in Austria and Southern Germany. As St. Nicholas rewards children on December 5th, his partner Krampus punishes naughty children by beating them with Birch branches, some legends even speak of Krampus shoving kids into the basket on his back and dragging naughty children off to hell.
Several small towns in Austria and Southern Germany celebrate with a Krampuslauf. This is when a veritable army of Krampuses march down the street to the beating of a drum, hitting adults and children with birch switches and pretending to drag them off to hell.
The costume are absolutely terrifying, pandemonium and chaos abounds during these parades. One must wonder who in the world would subject children to this terrifying ordeal? Taken out of context it must seem downright abusive to bring your child to the Krampuslauf. Most village boys and men that dress up as Krampus are gentle with children preferring to focus attentions on adults, for many of the younger men it is yet another attempt to impress young women with their exploits...who truly understands the mating rituals of heterosexuals? Certainly not me.
The key to understanding Krampus is steeped cultural context. The partnership of St. Nicholas and Krampus is an historical pairing in the mountainous regions. Dark figures (witches, devils, and assorted beasts) around Christmas can be seen in the folklore of many of the countries in Europe. One can imagine the imagination running wild on the cold winter nights, with the wind blowing, the snow piling up,and the darkness consuming the world. It is no wonder ghost stories and tales of devils and witches abound during these winter months.
Although Krampus has no direct connections to paganism, definitely early Christian origins, the idea of a figure that participates in taboo acts, intimidating, striking, and man-handling neighbors is related to practices from Roman holidays. The birch switch that Krampus carries also has a direct connection to pagan rituals. Although a loose connection to the pagan holidays, Krampus has its roots in the Christmas plays of the 1700's in the form of devils and the archetype biblical villain, King Herod (yes, the slayer of all the first borns).
As Krampus evolved the stories regarding this devil of the season were utilized to ensure children were behaving, and to ensure social norms were followed.
Now most European cities with a Krampuslauf consider this a quaint folkloric custom steeped in history. Krampus becomes alot less terrifying and more an interesting cultural observance. Children attending their first Krampslauf may even see this as a rite of passage, expecially considering that parents and older male siblings are participating in the Krampuslauf and they too might one day participate.
As of late he has become popular figure in America, with Krampuslauf's happening on December 5th all over the United States.
The quick answer of why I am fascinated is that Krampus really provides an antidote to the saccharine sweet Christmas for which the U.S. of A. has become so famous. The jolly Saint Nick is so far removed from the origins of Saint Nicholas. The historical Saint Nick was known for surreptitiously slipping coins into the shoes of impoverished adults. He is also said to have brought back to life three children butchered by a malicious butcher who was going to eat them during a famine. Dark I know. Later in Christian history, nuns would often bring clothes and toys to impoverished children on Saint Nicholas day (Dec. 6), and so the tradition of gift giving began. It was a natural extension for some communities to include Krampus with Saint Nicholas owing to the themes of those early plays.
Christmas around the world but especially in America has become a time of over indulgence, and over consumption. Over entitled children demand expensive gifts and families are artificially forced together for a brief time. Yes, there are some wonderfully generous gestures during this time and in the spirit of the season, and people very often are inspired to express feelings of goodwill and hope. I am also always super impressed with the celebration of light and beauty during this season.
Krampus is not the antithesis to much of this rather the complementary yin to the yang of the season. When we think of the yin-yang symbol it is easy to slip into that these are opposites, rather the light and the dark are complementary, interconnected, and interdependent. Just as we do not see the "Naughty" list as working against Santa, Krampus does not undo the work of Saint Nicholas, rather he complements the work.
One of the reasons I think we have over entitled children is that they have very little reason for exhibiting positive character traits. Generous behavior, gratitude, self control, and civility are not modeled by many adults in their lives nor are these behaviors often expected of children. We certainly don't reward these behaviors when we see children exhibiting them. We more often reward kids exhibiting aggressive and decidedly uncivil behaviors.
To me, Krampus is a reminder that there is accountability in the world. Our actions and behaviors have consequences. Is it right to use a demonic figure to terrify children into behaving? Definitely overkill, and definitely old world. But maybe the reminder isn't so much for the kids in the first place, maybe this is a physical manifestation of a reminder to parents that there are rewards when our children's values are centered on generosity and kindness, and consequences for when our kids act like spoiled entitled assholes.
And now...The Krampus Gallery...
1 comment:
Krampus is so very German (ala Hitler type German)... He's a bit much for me... I love you Walt but this obsession leaves me wondering about your childhood...
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