December 23, 2025 • 15 mins
St. Nicolas is famed for bringing gifts to good children. But in the Alpine regions of Europe, there is a legend about a grotesque creature - half human, half goat - that comes to punish naughty children. This creature - with horns and a long forked tongue - would beat bad children with birch rods - and even carry them away to be eaten. Today, this creature has become a world wide phenomenon. This is the story of Krampus.
Sources
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/krampus-could-come-you-holiday-season-180957438/
https://www.history.com/articles/krampus-christmas-legend-origin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus
Image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gruss_vom_Krampus.jpg
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