St. Nicholas & Krampus

December 6, 2022

Happy St. Nicholas Day !!! (today); Not-So-Happy Krampusnacht !!! (yesterday)

Today (December 6, 2022) is St. Nicholas Day in Austria and Germany, and in many other countries. On this day, good children receive treats, including candy, cookies, small toys or fruit that are placed by St. Nick in stockings, socks, shoes or bags.

Yesterday (December 5, 2022) was Krampusnacht (Krampus Night), mostly in Austria and Germany. Krampus is the dark, hell-bound counterpart of St. Nicholas who on December 5 every year punishes bad children by swatting them with switches and rusty chains before dragging them in baskets to a fiery place below.

This composite photo that I constructed shows a man portraying St. Nicholas. The other photo shows someone dressed as Krampus at the Perchtenlauf, also called the Krampuslauf (Krampus Run), in Klagenfurt, Austria, in 2006. According to Wikipedia: A Krampuslauf is when celebrants dressed as Krampus, often fueled by alcohol, chase children through the streets.