The Island Journal

I recently found a wen site I thought I'd share with my readers... well, reader. I was looking for something crafty to do in my hotel and doodling wasn't cutting it. I found a website for making paper robots, but they seemed like a ton of work and a little more involved than I was willing to attempt at that particular moment. I did a search for paper creatures and found Macula and his squealers. I was particularly interested in the “Krampus” as I have a somewhat twisted since of humor and one of his props is a “bad kid” in a basket slung on his back.

Now, having made the Krampus, I thought I'd do a little research and find out exactly what a Krampus is... well, it turns out it's not an it, but a who. Apparently he's a Germanic demon / imp who whips bad kids and carries them off. More interesting is who his running buddy is. SANTA CLAUS! That's right. In the misty beginnings of the legend of Saint Nick, he had several nasty spirits that roamed around with him referred to as his “companions”. Who'd have though a jolly old fat guy who gives joy to millions would associate with evil spirits? The Krampus is often depicted as an incubus sporting horns, dressed in black rags or sheep skins with a bundle of sticks, a pitch fork and a basket on his back. Sometimes he's seen wearing a darker and more sinister version of the fat man's costume or he appears to be mostly human with tiny red horns and a black suit.

This is not a part of the holiday season entirely lost to the ravages of time. In some regions of the US, there's still something sinister incorporated into the holiday season. Another incarnation of the Krampus, or possibly another of Santa's little helpers, the Belsnickel, is the center of Pennsylvania Dutch festivals and celebrations. We're all familiar with All Saint's Day and it's darker sibling Halloween aka All Soul's day. Well, each saint actually has a feast day of his own. Saint Nicholas (Who at one point snuck into a guys house and left three small sacks of gold to provide doweries for his three daughters so they could get married and thus saved them from lives of prostitution which is part of where we get the present thing in the first place) has a feast day on December 6th and the day prior is kept clear for Belsnickel. During his day, many young men dress like Belsnickel in masks and fur and carry switches with which they spank people, especially young women. Alright, I see how you're looking at me, but it's true. Other versions of the celebration throughout the world at one point in time had people dressed at either Belsnickle or the Krampus throwing chains at passing sledders or hikers. Now, I would prefer the switch to the chain, but that's just me.

Next Christmas, when you're snug in your bed and dreaming of the presents you're going to have under the tree, think of all the evil little children who are getting switches and coal and think of the creepy, horned creature, the Krampus, who delivers said coal and switches and carts off a few of those little miscreants each Christmas eve. Instead of leaving cookie for Father Christmas, I'm leaving his partner a four course meal just to be on the safe side.