🎇 Krampus is a horned, anthropomorphic figure in the Central and Eastern Alpine folklore of Europe who, during the Advent season, scares children who have misbehaved.
👴 Assisting Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, the pair visit children on the night of 6 December, with Saint Nicholas rewarding the well-behaved children with gifts such as oranges, dried fruit, walnuts and chocolate, while the badly behaved ones only receive punishment from Krampus with birch rods. Krampus day itself, on the other hand, is on the 5th of December.
🎉 Although Krampus appears in many variations, most share some common physical characteristics. He is hairy, usually brown or black, and has the cloven hooves and horns of a goat. His long, pointed tongue lolls out,[17][18] and he has fangs.
✨ Krampus carries chains, thought to symbolize the binding of the Devil by the Christian Church. He thrashes the chains for dramatic effect. The chains are sometimes accompanied with bells of various sizes. Of more pagan origins is the Rute, a bundle of birch branches that Krampus carries and with which he occasionally swats children. The Rute may have had significance in pre-Christian pagan initiation rites. The birch branches are replaced with a whip in some representations.
✨ Sometimes Krampus appears with a sack or a basket strapped to his back; this is to cart off evil children for drowning, eating, or transport to Hell. Some of the older versions make mention of naughty children being put in the bag and taken away. This quality can be found in other companions of Saint Nicholas such as Zwarte Piet.
🎄 Spun cotton ornaments originated in Germany in the 19th century and were used to decorate goose-feather trees. They were made by artisans in the cottage industry. Today, antique spun cotton ornaments are highly collectible. Little information remains regarding how these ornaments were made, despite years of research. A figure that measures 2"-3" often takes several hours to complete. For the first time, spun-cotton ornaments were made in Germany - mostly around the turn of the century. They were made by spinning cotton and cellulose together. Food shapes are the most common, while shapes of people and animals are the most valuable to collectors.