Krampus a fun Germanic tradition for Butler shop owner
Today, Santa Claus may leave coal for children who misbehave, but in 16th century central Europe, children’s bad behavior risked a greater punishment — a visit from Krampus.
Although centuries of folklore detail Krampus’ hostile acts toward children of all ages, the goatlike character was relatively jovial Saturday, Dec. 7, when he attended an event at The Shops on West Diamond in Butler.
Dorothy Calvert, of Dorothy’s Herb Shop, said she has organized a Krampus visit for the past five years, to act as a fun change-up to the Santa Claus visits hosted by other shops and organizations each year. Coming from a German background, Calvert said her family warned her about Krampus when she was a child, and she has passed it on to her own family. Despite frightening depictions of the beast across the centuries, Calvert said Krampus’ visits to her shop are meant to be fun for people looking for a unique holiday photo-opp.
“I grew up doing Saint Nick Night, so that's kind of how we brought it … My kids do it now, they know if they are bad, Krampus will bring them coal,” Calvert said. “Krampus is here; he isn't scary. He wears flannel, he brings candy canes to the kids.”
While people may still fear Krampus in 2024 — or at least his image — the origin of the character and the folklore surrounding him was likely based on real fears of people living in the Alpine region of Europe in the 1700s.
Mackenzie Herold, outreach coordinator for the Butler County Historical Society, said she majored in history and minored in German at Kutztown University, where she learned about German and European folklore. It was there where she learned about Saint Nikolaus Night, and one of its accompanying figures, Krampus.
Herold said modern people may be familiar with Saint Nikolaus Eve — the December tradition where children leave their shoes out overnight to receive presents from an early version of Santa Claus. Saint Nikolaus Eve was first observed in 11th century Central and East Alpine area, which is modern day southeastern Germany, and parts of Italy, Austria-Hungary and Romania, according to Herold.
“Saint Nikolaus came into German folklore about the 11th century, and what they do is have a feast for Saint Nikolaus on Dec. 6,” Herold said. “Dec. 5 is considered Saint Nikolaus Eve, where he drops stuff in children's shoes if they're good.
“In the 16th century, Krampus comes around. He's a big, hairy monster with big horns, a horrifying snarling face, and is used primarily as a tool to get kids to behave themselves.”
Herold said Krampus acts as a “villain to Santa’s good side,” and would punish children’s bad behavior by kidnapping them in a basket, beating them with a switch or even eating them. At least, that’s what the folklore said.
The violent actions threatened by Krampus could have arisen in folklore from the source of other cautionary fables: the darkness of night. Herold said mythology about dangerous creatures could have started because people would experience bad things in the dark, particularly the woods, where there was no light and little protection from potentially dangerous animals.
“There was a lot of folklore about the woods,” Herold said. “Part of the reason these stories were so prevalent was that the fear of the woods was so real. Lots of things could go wrong back then.”
Herold compared folklore about Krampus to stories from the Brothers Grimm, which are written to be like cautionary tales for children.
“The Grimm Brothers, it's horrifying, if you read their folk tales,” Herold said. “Santa and Krampus are a source of protection. Like Aesop's Fables, they’re imparting good messages to children.”
Herold said people in Germany and some of the surrounding area may still speak of Krampus to their children, but make him less of threatening than his original depictions.
“Think more Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny,” Herold said. “It's a big deal in German culture.”
In Germany, Krampus has become somewhat of a mascot for the holiday season, similar to cryptids in the Western world. Herold said Krampus runs — ceremonies where people run through the streets dressed fearsome creatures — has become a tradition in the European countries where Krampus folklore began.
“Over the years, Krampus has gotten more popular. All the way to the north of Italy. Really popular in Austria Hungary, even a little in Poland,” Herold said. Those countries do a ‘Krampus run,’ where basically these guys dress up and try to be as menacing as possible.”
People recognize Krampus’ appeal in the U.S. as well. The Penn Brewery in Pittsburgh recently had the city’s annual Krampusnacht, or Krampus Fest, and Herold mentioned that Pennsylvania Dutch on the eastern side of the state recognize a similar called Belsnickel.
Calvert said the Krampus visit Saturday was popular for some, with people visiting the shops after the Butler County Historical Society’s Cookie Walk, or after seeing Santa a few blocks away at Grows on Main.
“We've had multiple families come to get their Christmas photo done,” Calvert said.
Calvert added that Krampus is an interesting figure to her, because European folklore also informs her work as an herbalist and apothecary shop owner.
“In college, I took a lot of mythologies and different folklore and legend classes,” Calvert said. “I'm the herb lady, and folklore, that's a huge part of where our plants’ use come from.”
