Early December, children under the Alps must hide from a horned thing

Austria, southern Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic — there's a festival there on December 5th called Krampusnacht.

The night before, Saint Nicholas brings gifts to obedient children, while Krampus is responsible for dealing with the naughty ones. Legend has it that it is half-goat, half-demon, covered in fur, with curved horns, a very long tongue, holding a bundle of birch branches in its hand, and a basket on its back specifically for stuffing bad children into, then taking them into the mountains.

So on the night of December 5th, groups of young people wearing fur and wooden masks, shaking bells and holding whips, appear in the town and chase people down the street. Whichever child they catch gets hit once with the branches. This is called the "Krampus Run."

Children usually hide behind adults. Adults also deliberately scare them.

This custom is several hundred years old. In the late nineteenth century, Austrians were fond of sending "Krampus cards," with Krampus painted on one side and "Merry Christmas" written on the other. In 1934, the Austrian government once tried to ban Krampus, saying it was too frightening, and it was restored after the war.

In recent years, people abroad have turned it into a Halloween thing; its image is everywhere in movies and games, but locally, that day is a serious tradition. Every December, in places like Salzburg and Graz, hundreds or thousands of "Krampuses" take to the streets, not at all inferior to Halloween.

#Folklore #网络转载 #欧美灵异