How to Celebrate Krampus Night
Instructions + Free Krampus Mask Printable
this Sunday is Krampus Night! What better way to celebrate than in true Krampus fashion?
I come from a German family, so I have a soft spot for this particular Christmas demon. I love that Krampus has become a bit of a celebrity in the witchcraft craze of the Internet. (Who wouldn’t love a Satanic goat-man specifically devoted to the Xmas season?)
If you’ve been following me long enough (before ye olde Substack newsletter), you’ll recognize this comic from last year’s 12 Demons of Xmas series. I started it at the beginning of December 2020, and winter demon comics all planned out to end right on Christmas Day.
Then, midway through December, my dear friend Annie died. It was sooner than we expected, and we were all at such a loss. I had lots of unused material that I could’ve posted, but in the midst of such grief I had no stomach for Christmas demons, so I let the project go unfinished.
Now—a year later—I feel like I’m back in the creative saddle. Plus, most of you haven’t seen this content before, so I don’t feel too bad about resurrecting it for 2021. I’ll be posting more stories and tasty tidbits on the Substack, too, so even if you’ve seen some of the comics before, the series will have some new content for your hungry little art bellies. ❤️
And this year, because it’s nearly Krampus Night, I thought I’d start with the old German Christmas beast—Krampus himself.
So… who is Krampus, besides a lovable, Satanic goat-man with wiry fur and a forked tongue?
Unlike the other imps and demons on my list, Krampus is perhaps the most recognizable Christmas demon in the world. He usually appears on the Eve of St. Nicholas Day (December 5th) to scare all the naughty children and punish them for their misdeeds throughout the year.
There’s no official consensus on when and where Krampus traditions began, but folklorists believe he’s actually pre-Christian, which means he’s one of the oldest demons to be featured on this here comic. He’s pre-medieval, pre-Catholocism, pre-everything. He was most likely a pagan diety who—like so many others—got roped into Christian winter celebrations. He eventually became what he is today—the demonic sidekick to St. Nicholas.
While St. Nicholas (St. Nikolaus in Germany) is famous for giving gifts and rewards to the righteous, it’s Krampus’s job to strike fear into the hearts of the wicked. He does this by jangling his chains, stuffing naughty children into a sack, or whipping them with a switch or bundle of sticks.
In the Alpine regions of the world, Krampus Night (or Krampusnacht) has become one of the finest wicked festivals of the year. People dress up in elaborate Krampus costumes and parade through the streets, howling and jangling and causing all sorts of merry mischief. The parade is usually led by one—or many—St. Nicholases who hand out sweets and other little gifts as they wend their way through the town, followed by hordes of ambling Krampus folk.
We don’t have a Krampus parade where we live, so we have to celebrate in our own way. We decorate Krampus masks and romp and yell and chase each other around the house with little homemade switches. We also have some giant jingle bells that we jangle instead of chains. We try to honor and keep the Krampus spirit in our wicked hearts, now and always.
Afterwards, we settle down with some spiced cider and tell stories about St. Nikolaus. There’s a story that I particularly love where a trio of sisters are turned into sausages because they’re poor and can’t pay their debts. St. Nikolaus—who inherited a vast fortune—resurrects them, blood and bone, from the twisted sausage meat, and pays their bills.
A true Christmas miracle.
In some versions, it’s a trio of boys or brothers, and instead of being made into sausages, they’re chopped up with an axe and pickled in a barrel. St. Nikolaus does what all wealthy folks should do—pays the bill and resurrects the boys from their briney fate.
After these stories, we set our shoes by the fireplace (in some households, kids set their shoes by the door or beneath a window). In the morning, the shoes are filled with chocolate coins and oranges and Haribo gummy bears from St. Nikolaus.
If the children have been naughty (they always are) there’s also a little bundle of sticks for them, in the tradition of Krampus. In some regions of the world, Krampus bundles are displayed in a place of prominence throughout the year, to remind children to be on their best behavior, or else Krampus will come and beat them on Krampus Night.
Maybe we’ll try that this year.
However you go about it, we highly recommend the celebration of Krampus Night and St. Nicholas Day, even if you’re not German or Catholic or anything. We all need a little demonic inspiration in our lives, especially at this time of year.
To help you get started, I decided to make a Krampus mask that you can print at home and make for every member of your wicked family. If you don’t know what it looks like to raise a ruckus, you can always turn on some rowdy music, howl, or sing Jingle Bells at the top of your lungs. Just be generally obnoxious and evil. (Most children do not struggle with this part).
(Scroll to the bottom of this email to access the image for this printable mask. Just print it in landscape on quality card stock, or attach cardboard backing to give it some structure).
If you have no children, consider toasting to the night with Krampus’s traditional drink of schnapps, gluhwein, or hot spiced cider. Or, give someone a naughty Krampus card (called Krampuskarten in Germany).
Krampus cards have been around since the late nineteenth century. They often feature a toothy, devilish Krampus looming menacingly over weeping children, or carting off buxom ladies on their backs. I truly miss when Christmas was this terrifying.
Of course, you can also ring in St. Nicholas Day by giving money to the poor, or paying someone’s bill. Donate to your favorite mutual aid fund. Leave an unmarked envelope of cash in a mailbox. Pay for the person behind you in the drive thru or grocery store checkout.
If you’re too shy to do something in public, go pay the bills for my dear friend Jonah Welch. Jonah is an incredibly gifted trans/non-binary artist who is currently paying their way through school. Their Venmo is @jonahwelch and their PayPal is Jonah.m.welch@gmail. They also have a patreon for their art, poetry, and writing. I am so in love with the things they make and really love supporting them on patreon. Look at this beautiful work:
They give so much support and relief to folks with their art and activism, they could really use the financial support right now. They also organized this stunning campaign last year to put up trans-affirming billboards across different cities throughout the US, using artwork from trans artists. All the designs are beautiful, and here’s the one Jonah designed:
So seriously, give them a follow on ig (@jonahwelch), sign up for their patreon, or send them some $$ on the apps.
It’s what St. Nick would do.
Krampus Night is Sunday December 5th and St. Nicholas Day is December 6th, so be sure to have your masks assembled and ready, and don’t forget to leave your shoes out for St. Nikolaus to fill with treats.
And thank you for joining me (once again) on my 12 demonic days of Xmas. There’s much more to come, and I hope you enjoy it.
Merry Krampus, everyone. If you use the masks, feel free to take a pic and send it to me. Reply to this message directly or tag me on instagram @haunted_librarian. I would love, love, love to see you raising a ruckus on Krampus Night, or celebrating St. Nicholas Day in whatever way you choose.
With all my love and wickedness,
👹Becca Lee, the Haunted Librarian👹
(Here is the mask for you to enjoy):
This is the good stuff!