Even if you haven’t seen the movie, Krampus is the scariest of Bavarian Christmas traditions. Find out all about him and how to see a show during the season.
Christmastime in Germany is full of charm. All over the country the Christmas markets are going strong, especially the famous ones like Rothenburg ob Tauber. With the smell of sugary almonds roasting and the wisps of steam climbing out of your gluhwein mug, you happily look out for St. Nicholas and hope he gives you some sweets. However, that’s not the only thing that Bavarian children keep an eye out for. There’s another that makes his way to the markets, the devilish Krampus.
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St. Nicholas’ Dark Brother Follows Him Through the Crowd
Said to have originated in the 1600s to counteract all the spoiling of children, the legend of Krampus was created as a balance. Children needed to make sure they were good, not naughty. Not every child deserved to have his shoes or stockings filled with sweets, some children were bad. Krampus would parade through the town looking for these miscreants, chase them down, and give them a good swat or pelt them with bits of coal.
Krampus is a scary dude. When I saw him just the other night, he smelled like goat. Really! Come to find out, he is supposed to be half goat half devil. His blue eyes bored into you looking for some guilt that he could expose. His comrades were all pretty scary, some looking much more devilish than others.
In the marketplace, they put on quite the show. Dressed in their elaborate costumes of fake fur, real horns, large obnoxious-sounding bells, and interesting footwear, the group of Christmas devils used fire and loud noises, clomping, and scowling to exert their power.
Even though they are meant to scare the children, I saw many of them go up to a small child, hold his or her hand, and whisper things about staying good so that he wouldn’t have to become the mean Krampus that he can be. With wide eyes, the children just nodded and moms and dads stood tentatively by in case tears ensued, but they didn’t.
After the show the Krampus and his entourage wandered, scraping through the Christmas market looking for guilty bad boys and girls. They would stop and scare adults, but were very mild when it came to anyone under about 15. Everyone was laughing, even taunting the monsters. It was all in good fun, and then it was back to being merry, and shopping, and drinking gluhwein.
Would you like to experience the scariness of Christmas with a Krampus?
Check dates and locations for these popular Krampus groups:
If that doesn’t scare the kids into being good, nothing will.
Interesting to see some unusual Christmas traditions that have developed in other parts of the world.
Sally, That’s the idea! Not surprisingly the kids clamor to see Krampus just as much as Santa. Go figure.
Those costumes look like something out of Hellraiser! Yikes! That scary face would make me want to be good all year.
Lara, They sure do put on a great show!
Bloody hell, that thing is terrifying! They really make an effort with the costumes. I love this post #TheWeeklyPostcard
Krampus is terrifying…kids love him! So strange. I hope you get to see him someday.
I watched a movie about the Christmas Krampus so was aware of his existence by goodness me, he really is one scary and ugly looking dude isn’t he! Wow, what a performance to have seen, I would actually like to have witnessed this and your photos are stunning. Thank you for such an interesting post and a different take on Christmas #TheWeeklyPostcard
Angie, Krampus is not my favorite Christmas character, but it is interesting that he is Bavarian tradition, and we did enjoy the show.
I’ve lived in Bavaria now for 4 years and only last year I saw them for the first time. They are definitely scary AF! Plus it didn’t help that we heard all over the news last year that in Austria some Krampus hurt some people pretty badly, one even breaking the arm of a little girl. But it would be fun to see them put on a show with fire. Our just walked through town making noise and scaring people. #TheWeeklyPostcard
Lolo, The group we saw go all over and do little shows. It’s pretty neat. We enjoyed it.
Those costumes were well-designed and it’s good to know that the kids weren’t frightened. Not sure I want to know how they managed to smell like goat, though. Ugh!
Linda, Neither did I. Neither did I. Happy, happy new year!
Ahhhhhh, I’m scared just looking at your photos. There’s a Krampus movie out in theatres now, but there’s no way that I’m watching it. Give me Jolly Ole St. Nick instead, please.
Krampus’ costume was very scary, but I have to admit the fire/light show was pretty good. I don’t want to see the movie either, though.
Was Krampus created to scare people away? Because surely this is what the creature does. I think all these grotesque traditions have been invented by the progressives who actually want to make war on Christmas.
Anda, I think he just scares bad children good!
Looks scary, but I love your photos they are excellent. Obviously it is not scary for the kids because of the way the creatures approach the performance, but those costumes and make-up are spectacular.
Jan, It was interesting. They put on a great show!
What an interesting tradition, I had never heard of Krampus. While I am huge fans of holidays, I think it’s best to keep Halloween type spooks in their own holiday to maintain the magic of Christmas. It would be interesting to experience once though.
Amanda, I really don’t know, but the German kids seem to still love Christmas!
Cool :)
I think that would have terrified me as a child. Come to think of it, it still would!
Anabel, I think if I read a story about it, or saw a movie, it would have been more scary. This show was really fun with all the fire, and as I said the monsters actually held the kids’ hands and talked to them. I thought they did a great job.
I think Krampus is a good idea. It should come to the US. Of course, we already have Donald Trump, so Krampus might be superfluous.
Tom, He was pretty scary and smelled like goat….hmmmmm.