Krampus, by far the scariest character of the Christmas season

If you were worried about The Yule Lads running off with your sausages and candles or Perchta filling your belly with straw and pebbles, get ready for Krampus, the German Christmas demon. Those other Christmas ne'er-do-wells might give you a present if you've been good, but Krampus strictly punishes bad children. He might capture them in a sack and drag them off to his evil lair.  He might beat them senseless with birch branches. If they're lucky, he'll just frighten them out of their wits with rusty chains and bells. Krampus is simply an evil Christmas character that exists to strike fear into the hearts of kinder everywhere.

Popular in Austria and surrounding regions, Krampus has cloven hooves, the horns of a goat, and a crazy red tongue. The name "Krampus" comes from the Old High German for "claw." The Krampus legend originated in pre-Christian Germanic folklore and never mellowed over the years the way other Christmas characters like The Yule Lads did. In the nineteenth century, Krampus was often depicted working hand in hand with Santa Claus - Santa concerned himself with the good children, and Krampus took care of the bad ones. These days, drunken young men in places like Austria and southern Germany are encouraged to dress up in hideous Krampus masks and costumes during the Christmas season and roam around town traumatizing the children.  This is called a Krampuslauf and traditionally takes place on December 5th, something to keep in mind if you're planning a family holiday trip to Austria!

A sight a young child isn't likely to forget

Perchta, the Christmas visitor who will fill your insides with straw

Instead of commenting on Dennis Rodman's umpteenth trip to North Korea or the Duck Dynasty "just in time for Christmas" controversy, I thought we could take a look at some more European Christmas folklore.  And Perchta, today's entry, is decidedly crazier than Phil Robertson. Called Bertha in English, she's a supernatural being of German pre-Christian origin who arrives during the twelve days of Christmas. Like Santa Claus, Perchta might leave you a little present if you've been good.  If you've been slacking, however, this winter deity will slit your belly open and fill your insides with straw and pebbles.

The threat of being filled with straw was traditionally levied at children and servants, two groups in the household that parents wanted to focus on their work during the autumn. In particular, Perchta targets those who have not spun their quota of cloth for the winter. Interestingly, there seems to be a lot of Christmas folklore centered around getting your spinning done. I hope you have finished your allotment of wool by now.  If not, get ready to either be eaten by the Icelandic Christmas cat or have your belly slit open and filled with straw by Perchta. Merry Christmas!

Straw waiting to be packed inside your belly

The Yule Lads, Iceland's 13 Bad Santas

Today, December 12th, is a very special day for children in Iceland. It marks the arrival of Stekkjarstaur, the first of "The Yule Lads," Iceland's 13 mischievous, misbehaving Santa Clauses. One Yule Lad arrives each night from now until "Yule," aka Christmas Day. According to tradition, The Yule Lads are the unruly sons of the mountain-dwelling troll Grýla and her henpecked elf husband Leppalúði. They're a far cry from jolly old St. Nick, but a lot more fun. For example, Stekkjarstaur, whose English name is Sheep-Cote Clod, loves to irritate sheep but has trouble because of his awkward peg legs. He is often depicted attempting to mount a sheep, which I suspect is a tongue-in-cheek joke for the adults! He is a particularly fitting first arrival in Iceland where sheep outnumber people.

The story of The Yule Lads was originally developed to scare children into behaving. The 13 ne'er-do-wells are always looking for something to steal and even have an evil cat named Jólaköttur, who eats children who don't receive new clothes for Christmas. Tonight's visitor Sheep-Cote Clod will be followed tomorrow by Gully Gawk, who steals cow's milk, Stubby, a very short Lad who steals pans to eat the crust, then Spoon Licker, Pot Scraper, Bowl Licker, Door Slammer, Skyr Gobbler (Skyr being a very tasty Icelandic version of yogurt), Sausage Swiper, Window Peeper, Doorway Sniffer, who is trying to find laufabraud, a special fried holiday bread, to steal, and finally Meat Hook and Candle Stealer, who traditionally thieves tallow candles made of lard and eats them.

Every night, the wee ones will put out a shoe in their windowsill and hope that they have been good and will receive a present in the morning. If they've been bad, they will probably wake up to find a potato. Children are encouraged to place an appropriate bribe in the shoe for each Yule Lad to have a better chance, and there are plenty of publications suggesting the best treat for each one, such as a carrot or some cookies. Candle Stealer, naturally, responds best to a delicious candle.

Window Peeper, the voyeuristic Yule Lad

Sausage Swiper

Skyr Gobbler and Window Peeper depicted on Icelandic milk carton