The Elf visits many families every season to keep kids on Santa’s nice list. However, for some feral children, such as my own, the Elf isn’t enough. We need Krampus.
Who, or what, is Krampus?
Leave it to the Germanic peoples, known for their uplifting and happy ending fairy tales (sarcasm), for the legend of Krampus. The counterpart to Saint Nicholas, the Krampus, is who the naughty list boys and girls get to meet.
Traditionally, on December 6th in some central European countries, good boys and girls wake up to receive presents from Saint Nicholas. The night before, December 5th, Krampusnacht, is when Krampus finds the bad kids. The legend goes that he finds them, hits them with a wooden stick, puts them into his basket, and takes them to…Well, it depends on who you ask.
Either way, it is an incentive to stay on the good list.
This tradition has turned into parades and a Krampus run, which are mainly celebrated throughout Austria, Germany, and northern Italy. It seems like a lot of good holiday traditions and fun, and for parents who are looking to level up on naughty list threats, you may have met your match.
My kids have known about Krampus for a few years now. We teach our children that he’s friends with Santa, vacations in South Tyrol in the off-season, and probably enjoys a good beer stein. We make it a fun and sometimes stern part of our family Christmas tradition. They get a kick from watching the Krampus run parades on social media.
While our family will be getting an elf this year for extra surveillance, we have used a Santa app in years past. This app calls our kids when they’re nice but more often when they are naughty. It’s just a reminder to stay on the nice list. For my parents who need to level up, did you know there’s a similar Krampus app? It has the same general premise: your kid acts up, Krampus sets them straight.
