Also called Krampus Night, Krampuslauf, St. Nicholas Eve, Nikolausabend
The night of 5 December in the Alpine countries, when Saint Nicholas brings gifts to good children and his horned companion Krampus threatens the naughty with birch switches. Masked Krampus and Perchten runs are also said to chase off the dark spirits of winter.
TraditionAustrian, Bavarian and Alpine Catholic folk custom
RegionAustria, Bavaria, South Tyrol, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and the Czech Republic
EraMasked devils attested from the 16th century; Krampus paired with St. Nicholas from the 17th century
Moon◐ Any moon
DaySaturn
ElementEarth
Difficulty●○○ Simple
TimeOne evening, with the gifts found in the morning
Tonight's moon is read when the page loads.
The working
On the evening of 5 December, have each child clean and polish a pair of shoes or boots and set them by the door or on a windowsill.
Overnight, fill the shoes with nuts, mandarins, gingerbread and a small sweet from Saint Nicholas.
Tuck in or hang up a small bundle of birch twigs, painted gold or tied with a red ribbon. It is a light-hearted reminder of Krampus, not something to use on anyone.
Send Krampuskarten, the comic Krampus greeting cards Austrians have exchanged since the 19th century, to friends and family.
If a Krampuslauf is held near you, watch it from a safe spot with older children, and stay back from the runners.
Keep the birch bundle by the door through Advent as a playful charm to keep bad behaviour and bad luck out of the house.
Take care: The birch bundle is a decoration, never a tool for hitting anyone. Krampus runs can be rough, so keep small children well back and do not provoke the runners. Remember that the custom is meant to be fun, so match the scare to the age of the child.
Versions across time and place
i
Perchtenlauf
Alpine Twelve Nights custom · Recorded from the early modern period
Masked runners dressed as Perchten, wild furred figures with carved wooden masks and bells, go through villages between the winter solstice and 6 January. They were looked on with suspicion by the Church and banned by some authorities, but the runs survived in remote valleys and are said to drive away winter spirits and bring a good year.
Uses: Carved wooden masks, Cowbells, Furs
Recorded in: Krampus (Wikipedia); Perchta (Wikipedia)
ii
Saint Nicholas and Krampus house visit
Austrian family custom · 17th century to present
A man dressed as the bishop Nicholas visits the home with Krampus, asks the children about their year and hands out gifts, while Krampus rattles his chains and bells. Honigmann described the custom in Irdning in 1975, where locals saw Krampus as an old spirit absorbed into the Christian devil.
Uses: Bishop costume, Chains and bells
Recorded in: Krampus (Wikipedia), citing John J. Honigmann's 1975 fieldwork in Irdning, Styria
iii
Saint Lucy's gift night in northern Italy
Italian Alpine and Po valley custom · Still observed
In Trentino, Friuli and parts of Lombardy and Veneto, Saint Lucy rather than Nicholas brings gifts to good children and coal to bad ones on the night of 12 December. Children leave coffee for her and a carrot for her donkey.
Uses: Coffee, Carrot
Recorded in: Saint Lucy's Day (Wikipedia)
History
Krampus is a horned, hairy figure with a long tongue, one human foot and one goat's hoof, who walks with Saint Nicholas on the eve of his feast. Nicholas rewards good children while Krampus brings coal and birch rods for the badly behaved. Masked devils acting up have been known in German lands since at least the 16th century, and Krampus became Nicholas's helper in the 17th century, much like Knecht Ruprecht or Père Fouettard. Historians doubt claims of a pre-Christian origin.
The custom was banned by the Dollfuss government in Austria in the 1930s, and in the 1950s Austrian authorities issued pamphlets warning that Krampus might frighten children. A revival began late in the 20th century, along with the carving of wooden masks in Bavaria. Large Krampus runs now draw crowds and sometimes trouble: in 2013 runs in East Tyrol sent eight people to hospital.
