Krampusnacht

December 5, 2023, at home

Happy Krampusnacht (Krampus Night), December 5, mostly in Austria and Germany: Krampus is the dark companion of St. Nicholas, the traditional European winter gift-bringer who rewards good children each year on December 6. St. Nick leaves the task of punishing bad children to a hell-bound counterpart called Krampus, who on December 5 punishes the naughty children by swatting them with switches and rusty chains before dragging them, in baskets, to a fiery place below. I condensed this information from:

www.krampus.com

This photo shows someone dressed as Krampus at the Perchtenlauf, also called 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.