Jill and Rich, our friends from Boston came out for the week and we went on a Bavarian/Austrian excursion. Please cross-reference "Neuschwanstein check!" for an explanation on what we did in Bavaria. As a side note, if you haven't already done so, check out "Wait a Minute" on the Farmhouse Films link (http://www.farmhousefilms.com/).During Christmas Time or Weihnachtzeit, every city square is filled with the Weihnachtmarkt where food and beverages (Glühwein, Eierpunsch, or orangenpunsch are popular) are sold along with Christmas gifts and toys.
In Austria there was a special character often depicted by dried-fruit figurines: Krampus. Krampus is not the jolly happy soul that Santa is (see picture). Instead of giving bad kids candy, in Austria and parts of Germany Santa Claus (a.k.a Weihnachtsmann) simply ignores bad kids. However, Krampus does not. He comes to the front door and puts the bad kids into a large bag and then beats them silly with his stick (again see the picture).
The Teutonic people following the advice of such other German child specialists as the Brothers Grimm don't let the threatening legend live as a warning. We asked an Austrian market worker about Krampus' appearance at the Christmas Fest. A man dressed up in full costume, including sticks, will appear and ask parents if their children are bad. Those who were bad are handed to Krampus. When asked if he will actually beat the kids, she answered "maybe if he has been drinking more than a little, yes."
The same line of questions posed to a Nürnberger gave this picture. "Our Krampus is not as ugly as the Austrian. He shows up at your door and puts you in a bag, but doesn't hit you. I think I cried every Christmas, but would be bad again a few months later."
Maybe the 2-3 months of good behavior is worth the lifelong mental scarring. We'll have to think about bring the Krampus tradition back to the US with us and our kid.
