Christmas is nearly here and with it, we celebrate one of its most emblematic (and not necessarily religious) icons: Santa Claus. This icon is a figure associated with fun and joy brought to kids during this Holiday Season, but..what if there was a darker and creepier side to all of this? Here is where Krampus, the "Christmas demon", comes in, being one of Santa's helpers who literally punishes naughty children.

According to legend, many years ago, Santa's naughty list had massively grown, so he summoned the demon Krampus and invited him to help him punish naughty kids. The demon, who hated children, gladly accepted. So, while nice children received their presents, naughty kids were burned by Krampus and he even ate one or two, or he would take them to the underworld.

[p]VIDEO: "The Story of the Christmas Krampus"

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Krampus is not something that is normally associated with Christmas, on the contrary, it could be considered as something that has to do with Halloween. With big horns, hoofs, dark hair, pointy fangs and a horrible tongue, he is basically the Anti-Claus. The origin of this demon comes from the Pre-Christian era, in Germany. Its name comes from the word crampon, which means "claw" and it's said that he is the son of Hel from Norse mythology. The demon also shares some features with a few of Greek mythology's creatures.

According to the Germanic myth, known as Krampusnacht or the Night of the Krampus, the Krampus arrives to the cities on December 6th, same day as Saint Nicholas (Christmas holidays starting on the first days of December). This tradition is based on some regional "pagan" beliefs that were incorporated little by little to Chrsitianism; however, the existence of this demon was suppressed by the Catholic Church for many years, and during World War II it was seen as something despicable by fascists groups who thought of it as socialist creation.

Slowly, this character has returned to Christmas myths thanks to the internet culture, more specifically in Austria where it has started to capitalize the figure. Nonetheless, one can't just leave aside that some version of this Christmas demon exists in different cultures or is at least referenced to. How much of this is myth and how much of this is real? Santa Claus is based on a real figure, so maybe Krampus could have a same background.

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jorge.guevara@sandiegored.com

zyanya.figueroa@sandiegored.com