December 5th was Sinterklaas in the Netherlands. This year, I was very sad to notice a lot less fun stuff and a lot less candy, in the good old U.S. of A. than they had in the Netherlands. It was disappointing. (To make up for it, you can look at the posts I did on Sinterklaas last year: part 1, part 2, and part 3.)
Now, I knew that many European countries have lots of different Christmas related holidays, many of which are quite weird. (The Dutch Zwarte Pieten are one example.) However, I may have found a wierdo tradition that beats all the rest to pieces. This tradition is Krampus Day. It originates in the Swiss and Austiran Alps and is also celebrated on December 5th, like Sinterklaas. It also has a similar theme without being quite so racially sensitive or so Spain-ophobic.
On Krampus, mountain demons come into the towns to beat naughty children with birch whips and to drag the really bad ones into hell or into the mountain to eat. It is quite the deal. (You can look at the Wikipedia post here, if you would like.) I have loaded a video of a Krampus song below. It is only a couple of minutes long and gives a little history of the tradition and its origins.
If you want to be really creeped out, you can watch the video below. It is about eight minutes long and is a video of a Krampuslauf, or Krampus parade, in the city of Gratz, Austria a few years ago. It is pretty impressive and kind of disturbing. I would strongly encourage you not to watch it right before bedtime.
If you still think that the less threatening Sinterklass is more for you, then you can read about how to celebrate the holiday (late) here.
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