Merry Christmas and a happy new fear

By Soncirey Mitchell
Reader Staff

Beloved Christmas traditions like giving gifts, baking cookies and caroling make the modern celebration the most saccharine holiday of the year — at least in the U.S. Christmas wasn’t always how it’s portrayed in Miracle on 34th Street or the Santa Clause movies, though, and in many parts of Europe where ancient myth and Christianity have been entwined for over a thousand years, the holiday season still has darker undertones and worse punishments than coal for naughty children. 

‘Arrest the devil at sight’: Krampus

Krampus, from a 1911 postcard. Courtesy image.

The demonic figure of Krampus left his alpine origins in Germany, Austria and many Eastern European nations and cemented his place in pop culture in a recent slew of horror movies. It’s unclear how ancient the Krampus myth actually is, but his description has remained relatively the same since the early 20th century — he’s hairy with horns, cloven hooves and a pointed tongue, reminiscent of depictions of the Devil popularized in the Middle Ages.

The horror movies stem from the most extreme versions of the Krampus myth, wherein he kidnaps, tortures and eats children. In most holiday celebrations nowadays, Krampus usually only scares children, though he’s often shown beating them with a birch switch. He accompanies St. Nicholas on Dec. 5, called “Krampus Night,” to dole out punishment to naughty kids.

Austrian celebrations like Perchtenlauf, Klaubaufe and Krampuslauf, which means “Krampus run,” became increasingly popular in the late 20th century as a celebration of cultural heritage. Festival-goers dress up in elaborate, grotesque costumes and try to chase and scare onlookers.

Religious leaders have historically tried and failed to kill off the Krampus myth. In a Dec. 23, 1934 New York Times article, an unnamed writer lamented the fact that “Fascist Austria” and the Austrian Catholic Union were waging war against the “harmless, if not necessary, Krampus.” The organization declared Krampus a socialist, and in conjunction with the local government, police were ordered to “arrest the devil at sight.”

Jólakötturinn: the man-eating Yule Cat

The Icelandic Yule Cat is likely a far more modern invention than Krampus, first appearing in 1932 in the book Jólin Koma (“Christmas is Coming”) by Jóhannes úr Kötlum. The figure quickly gained popularity, and by the ’70s, the ferocious feline was so fashionable that public and personal Christmas decorations often included the silhouette of a black cat. It has since become the subject of Björk’s song “The Christmas Cat.”

Unlike most dark Christmas legends, the Yule Cat does not specifically punish naughty children. Kötlum’s original poem simply stated that it “hunted men” and “picked on the very poor” who received no new clothes for Christmas.

“Now you might be thinking of helping / Where help is needed most. / Perhaps you’ll find some children / That have nothing at all.” The poem encouraged readers to share necessities with the less fortunate to spare them a gruesome death by giant cat. Be grateful for those boring socks and underwear beneath the Christmas tree.

The family business: Grýla and the Yule Lads

Far from the benign-if-creepy Elf on the Shelf, Icelandic tradition is full of trolls and ogres that, like their feline counterpart, eat children or otherwise cause mischief throughout the month of December.

The ogress Grýla is an ancient and well-documented figure who first appeared in 13th-century texts like the Íslendinga saga, but only became widely associated with Christmas because of the 1932 poem “Yule Lads” by Jóhannes úr Kötlum, which describes her 13 trickster children.

“Throughout the year, it is said that she [Grýla] collects whispers about children around the island misbehaving, and when winter sets in, she sets out to gather them,” according to Guide to Iceland, the nation’s tourist information website. 

The ogress makes the children into a hearty stew to snack on throughout the harsh winter.

The threat of Grýla became so terrifying that, in 1746, the Icelandic government banned the use of scary stories to discipline children, according to the Smithsonian’s website.

Unlike their mother, the Yule Lads have largely morphed into benevolent — albeit annoying — Christmas figures. With descriptive names like Spoon Licker, Door Slammer and Meat Hook, these Santa-like men enter children’s homes at night to leave presents, steal food and pull minor pranks.

Another reason to fear the French: Père Fouettard

A depiction of St. Nicholas from the book Grandes Heures d’Anne de Bretagne, completed in the early 1500s. Courtesy image.

Like Krampus, Father Christmas and Père Fouettard — literally Father Whipper — travel together, delivering candy or beatings to little French children. Many claim that the original myth of Fouettard stems from the mid-1200s or 1600s; however, the oldest document with the complete story is a song collected by Gérard de Nerval in 1842 and housed in the National Library of France.

In the song, three young boys stop by Fouettard’s cottage and request to spend the night.

“The butcher [Fouettard] seized a knife straitway, And did the little creatures slay. / He put them in a tub of brine, In pieces small as they were swine.”

Seven years later, after the children are thoroughly pickled, St. Nicholas arrives and resurrects them. In some versions, Fouettard accompanies Old St. Nick each December to repent for his crime — though since his punishment for murdering children is beating more children, it doesn’t sound very effective.

This dark counterpart to Santa is a standard archetype in European myth and includes at least 16 other identified figures, including Hans von Trotha, Belsnickel and, of course, Krampus.

People may joke about the jarring transition from Halloween decorations to Christmas music blaring in the supermarket, but remember, this icy holiday is equally as monstrous.