The Kramperl (plural of Krampus) are these creatures dressed in furry yeti/wookie outfits with terrifying devil masks. They wear bells so you know they are coming, and carry whips or switches with which they beat you. Sometimes they stuff you in a sack and carry you off.
The Kramperl are a good example of how the Christmas wires and the Pagan wires got crossed somewhere. Apparently (as far as I can tell, anyway) the original version of the Kramperl are these pagan characters called Perchten. The Perchten are the demon henchmen of Frau Perchta (whose English name is Bertha). They represent the cold, dark, alpine winters. When Perchta appears, she sends the Perchten to the bad individuals....for what exactly is kind of unclear. To beat sense into them? Intimidate them? I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, traditionally these creatures came with Perchta, but today the Kramperl show up with St. Nicholas to do essentially the same thing.
St. Nicholas - who is NOT Santa, according to my students - shows up on the 6th of December. He is the former Archbishop of somewhere in Turkey, and became what he is today because of one time when he gave some golden apples to underprivileged children. Nowadays he shows up to put candy and money and sometimes fruit into childrens' shoes. Sometimes he shows up at your door, and almost always he shows up with a giant book which tells him whether you've been naughty or nice. If you've been nice, you get the goodies; if you've been naughty, he sends a Krampus after you.
The best part of this all, though, is that in the days leading up to St. Nicholas day, the Kramperl are allowed to wander the streets intimidating children (and young women who have received Fulbright scholarships). There are even Krampus parades that you can go see if you're brave. I desperately wanted to see one of these, so when Catherine Jäger, a friend from college and fellow Fulbright scholar, came to visit, we went out looking for one. We didn't look very far - the Krampuslauf (Krampus parade) was happening on the street outside of my house. It's actually terrifying. Imagine being totally clueless, thinking you're walking down the street like you would any other night, and suddenly hearing cow bells followed by the sound of whips cracking and children screaming bloody murder. And when you finally see the Kramperl, they chase you, beat you, and potentially try to steal you. All of these things happened to me while Jäger stood around laughing and taking pictures.
The Krampus, sneaking up on an unsuspecting woman
I got a picture with one!
This one stole my hat and then tried to steal me
Being stolen by a Krampus
Maija and her new Krampus friend. Check out the handcarved wooden mask the guy is wearing!
Jäger (left) and Maija (right) and me enjoying some mulled wine after our encounter with the Krampus
Jäger and I sent this picture off to the Bowdoin magazine. Hopefully we'll be in a publication soon! The German Department said it would end up on their website, as did the office of Fellowships and Grants, but I have yet to see it in either of those places.
Me, Maija, Fleur and Jäger in front of Mirabell gardens, with the castle up above
Jäger, Maija and Fleur
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