For Whom the Jingle Bell Tolls



Jolly Old Saint Nicholas with the Krampus, Le Père Fouettard,
Mother Flog, the Yule Cat, Zwarte Piet and boxes full
of Christmas elves.

      The rusty chains rattled against the slow ominous ring of the cow bell  as the creature known as Krampus walked slowly toward midnight down the streets of the tiny alpine village clutching a blood stained birch rod, waiting patiently to cross the path of any naughty child.  Yellow candlelight flickered out of tiny windows as he turned his devilish horned head and gazed back over his shoulder toward his companion and counterpart St. Nikolas who heaved breathlessly as he walked over the hill some distance behind carrying a large bag of toys draped over one shoulder.  Krampus winced, irritated by the enormity of the bag. His vengeance on the children of this poor village would be smaller than he had once hoped for.
     This is not the typical opening that would jump to mind when you think of a Christmas story, but in many parts of Europe St. Nicholas has some scary sidekicks that far predate the jolly elves and cast of reindeer that accompany the current Coca-Cola Santa Claus on his mission of joy, delivering toys to little Billy and Katie Colgate.
      Take for instance the french butcher Pere Fouettard who chopped up the bodies of three lost boys then combined them with that of a pig he had brined hoping to capitalize on the extra meat by passing them off as pork.   After being admonished of this sin by St. Nicholas he became a devout follower and helper to his redeemer. One wonders if they had been prison buddies in old St. Niks checkered past. It’s no shock that the nation who brought us the guillotine and bordelaise would serve us Pere Fouettard. 
      Another Christmas nightmare is the Icelandic Yule Cat. Heaven forbid little Fridrika not receive that new wool dress and tail cap she had prayed for all year, for anyone not receiving a new item of clothing on this of all holidays would end up in the belly of this fiendish feline. The Yule Cat is said to reside in a cave with Gryla the child eating ogre and her thirteen Yule Lads, one of which is named Window-Peeper. Guess what this little creep’s favorite pastime is. Happy Holidays Iceland!
     These are only a few of the creatures found in European folklore surrounding the most holy of all holidays.  There are many others with crimes ranging from misdemeanor style pranks geared towards the general population to those with a blood lust focused on the youths of Europe. We will be profiling one of these creatures each week so move over Halloween, Krampus is coming.
     This work is for no other reason than to share the European folklore of centuries past with a dose of dark humor. In no way do we endorse the brutality of children by ogres, gigantic black cats or horned demons.  Nor do we endorse the employment of any former Spanish-Moorish slaves for the convenience of St. Nicholas, aka Santa Claus. As for any Europeans who find fault in our inaccuracies; we’re just two Americans trying to wrap our minds around the fact that Christmas hasn’t always been about sugar plum fairies and candy canes.  We apologize in advance if we offend anyone’s delicate sensibilities.