Merry Krampus!
Today is the day when the Krampus roam.
I know, "What's a Krampus"?
I gave you a link right up there and here's a news article from Der Spiegel. Too lazy to click? Fine. The Krampus is the dark companion of Santa Claus. Back in the days when men were men, women were women and parents were parents they knew that promising kids gifts at Christmas wasn't enough to keep the little bastards in line. They knew you had to scare the crap out of them as well. So, the Krampus was born.
Like all good traditions, the Krampus tradition is now kept up in Alpine regions by young men who get all hopped up on the liquor and whatnot, dress up in costumes and roam the streets on December 5 scaring people, waving chains and rusty nails and occasionally birching people. Sounds like a blast to me. Better than any Christmas party I ever attended.
My favorite line from the Speigel article is this: "As with most old traditions, Krampus has been somewhat commercialized and toned down. Today the tradition often devolves into a mid-winter bacchanal, where scaring kids takes a back seat to heroic bouts of drinking". Sounds like a typical Saturday night at the curling club for yours truly. Maybe I can scare up a devil mask or something for this week.
Thinking of doing a little Krampusing of your own? Ken Freedman supplied a fine the soundtrack last year and will be doing another special Krampus show this year on (I think) the 17th of December.
Now lets all get out there and scare the little buggers! And then let's get drunk and whack young ladies with birch switches. Hmm, wonder where I can get one of those in Midtown.
I know, "What's a Krampus"?
I gave you a link right up there and here's a news article from Der Spiegel. Too lazy to click? Fine. The Krampus is the dark companion of Santa Claus. Back in the days when men were men, women were women and parents were parents they knew that promising kids gifts at Christmas wasn't enough to keep the little bastards in line. They knew you had to scare the crap out of them as well. So, the Krampus was born.
Like all good traditions, the Krampus tradition is now kept up in Alpine regions by young men who get all hopped up on the liquor and whatnot, dress up in costumes and roam the streets on December 5 scaring people, waving chains and rusty nails and occasionally birching people. Sounds like a blast to me. Better than any Christmas party I ever attended.
My favorite line from the Speigel article is this: "As with most old traditions, Krampus has been somewhat commercialized and toned down. Today the tradition often devolves into a mid-winter bacchanal, where scaring kids takes a back seat to heroic bouts of drinking". Sounds like a typical Saturday night at the curling club for yours truly. Maybe I can scare up a devil mask or something for this week.
Thinking of doing a little Krampusing of your own? Ken Freedman supplied a fine the soundtrack last year and will be doing another special Krampus show this year on (I think) the 17th of December.
Now lets all get out there and scare the little buggers! And then let's get drunk and whack young ladies with birch switches. Hmm, wonder where I can get one of those in Midtown.
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