Several factors coincided to produce a broad acceptance of greeting cards as a popular commodity,” says Bradbeer, including a higher literacy rate and new consumerism stemming from increasing levels of discretionary income. But postal reform and advances in printing technologies were the two factors that really pushed Christmas cards into the mainstream. Haid, Oliver (2006). "Christmas markets in the Tyrolean Alps: Representing regional traditions in a newly created world of Christmas". In Picard, David; Robinson, Mike (eds.). Festivals, tourism and social change: remaking worlds. Buffalo, New York: Channel View Publications. pp.216–19. ISBN 978-1-84541-048-3.

Morality and a strict code of social conduct embodied the time period of Queen Victoria’s reign (1837-1901), but the Victorians still had their fair share of questionable practices. They thought nothing of posing with the dead or robbing graves and selling the bodies. Their holiday customs evolved with just as much curiosity. Clowns, insects and even the Devil himself had a place in early holiday fanfare. Kallikantzaros– Malevolent goblin in Southeastern European and Anatolian folklore – Creature in Balkan folklore Koliada– Ancient pre-Christian Slavic winter festival, an ancient pre-Christian Slavic festival where participants wear masks and costumes and run around. The Krampus carries bundles of ‘ruten’ or twigs he uses to swat misbehaving children. For the celebrations, these bundles are handed to families so children remember the threat of the Krampus throughout the year and behave themselves. In countries where Krampusnacht is celebrated, St. Nicholas gives gifts to the children, but if they misbehave, the Krampus arrives to take the gifts away and give the children coal and ruten instead. Throughout the night on December 5, men dress up as the Krampus, drink alcohol, and celebrate on the streets. Throw Out Krampus". Time. 7 December 1953. p.41. Archived from the original on 22 December 2008 . Retrieved 18 December 2011.It is customary to offer a Krampus schnapps, a strong distilled fruit brandy. [20] These runs may include Perchten, similarly wild pagan spirits of Germanic folklore and sometimes female in representation, although the Perchten are properly associated with the period between winter solstice and 6 January. The show was such a great success that he invited me to start curating the Krampus shows,” he says. In the 19th century, before festive Christmas cards became the norm, Victorians put a darkly humorous and twisted spin on their seasonal greetings.Some of the more popular subjects included anthropomorphic frogs, bloodthirsty snowmen and dead birds. Austrians in the community we studied are quite aware of "heathen" elements being blended with Christian elements in the Saint Nicholas customs and in other traditional winter ceremonies. They believe Krampus derives from a pagan supernatural who was assimilated to the Christian devil. [12]

The 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 5 December. [1] a b "Joines & Kotz's "Krampus!" Terrorizes Christmas at Image". Comic Book Resources. 19 November 2013. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021 . Retrieved 21 December 2014. Honigmann, John J. (Autumn 1977). "The Masked Face". Ethos. 5 (3): 263–80. doi: 10.1525/eth.1977.5.3.02a00020. Bottom line is postcards in Germany were a huge market,” he says. “I think this is why they started doing scenarios with women.” The Evolution of Christmas

Greetings from Krampus

In Styria, the Rute is presented by Krampus to families. The twigs are painted gold and displayed year-round in the house—a reminder to any child who has temporarily forgotten Krampus. In smaller, more isolated villages, the figure has other beastly companions, such as the antlered "wild man" figures, and St Nicholas is nowhere to be seen. These Styrian companions of Krampus are called Schabmänner or Rauhen. [20] Manufacturers started to commercialize Krampus after 1890, when the Austrian government relinquished control over the nation’s postcard production, causing the industry to flourish. Between then and World War I, German companies sold Krampus Christmas cards in Germany, Austria, and other countries, often with slogans like “Gruss vom Krampus” (Greetings from Krampus) or “Brav Sein” (Be Good). Krampusnacht is a celebration of the devil Krampus, who is believed to be a creature that is half-man, half-goat. He is depicted as being hairy with large horns, a goat’s cloven hooves, red eyes, and fangs. However, the depictions of the Krampus vary from region to region. In some depictions, the Krampus is shown wearing chains, and the people wearing Krampus costumes often thrash around in the chains for maximum effect. The chains are to represent the binding of the Devil by Jesus Christ, in Christian mythology. Silver, Marc (30 November 2009). "Merry Krampus?". NGM Blog Central. National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 22 September 2010 . Retrieved 17 December 2011. The character of Krampus has been imported and modified for various North American media, [22] [40] including print (e.g. Krampus: The Devil of Christmas, a collection of vintage postcards by Monte Beauchamp in 2004; [41] [29] Krampus: The Yule Lord, a 2012 novel by Gerald Brom [42]); Krampus, a comic series from Image Comics in 2013 created by Dean Kotz and Brian Joines, television – both live action (" A Krampus Carol", a 2012 episode of The League [40]) and animation (" A Very Venture Christmas", a 2004 episode of The Venture Bros., [22] " Minstrel Krampus", a 2013 episode of American Dad! [43])–video games ( CarnEvil, a 1998 arcade game, [44] The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, a 2014 video game [45]), and film ( Krampus, a 2015 Christmas comedy horror movie from Universal Pictures [46]).

Sveti Nikola – Mikulaš"[Saint Nicholas - Mikulas]. www.hrvatskarijec.rs (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 22 December 2015 . Retrieved 14 December 2015. The Krampus figures persisted, and by the 17th century Krampus had been incorporated into Christian winter celebrations by pairing Krampus with St. Nicholas. [13] Modern history [ edit ]St. Nicholas Day in Switzerland & Central Europe". iFolor. 6 October 2018 . Retrieved 28 November 2023. Greeting cards, in general, are linked socially, economically and politically to the culture, period and place of their origin and use. “Sentiments and designs that may seem unusual today were often considered signs of good fortune, while others poked fun at superstitions,” says Bradbeer. Oltermann, Philip (8 December 2019). "Austria struggles with marauding Krampus demons gone rogue: Police record rising violence and drunkenness in relation to traditional folkloric festivities". The Guardian . Retrieved 8 December 2019. In Austria and parts of Germany, people still dress up as Krampus to scare children on Krampusnacht (“Krampus night,” traditionally held on December 5), as they did in the 19th century; but the Krampuslauf (“Krampus run”), in which men get drunk and run through the streets in frightening costumes, is, obviously, mainly for the grownups. In the U.S., most celebrations of Krampus are also kind of like drunken dress-up days for adults—which, ironically, are more similar to an older type of American Christmas, before the holiday became more focused on kids and presents for kids.

Whether or not Beauchamp is primarily responsible for introducing Krampus cards to the U.S., Krampus has since become a sort of ironic icon in America. Etsy has a whole section of items inspired by classic Krampus cards. And if you don’t have time to send cards, you can buy an ugly Krampus sweater to wear to your local Krampus party or Krampuslauf. Krampus’ popularity in the U.S. arguably peaked with the 2015 feature film Krampus, which shouldn’t be confused with the many other low-budget Krampus movies. I think it’s important to understand that ‘festive’ cards as we know them now are very much a 20th-century phenomena,” says Katie Brown, assistant curator of social history at York Castle Museum. According to Brown, although some of the history is lost, designs were made to serve as conversation pieces as much as they were made to celebrate the season. Many Victorian Christmas cards became parlor art or people added them to their scrapbook collections. In the 1950s, the government distributed pamphlets titled "Krampus Is an Evil Man" for fear that encounters with Krampus might damage children's mental health. [15] Towards the end of the century, a popular resurgence of Krampus celebrations occurred and continues today. [16] For over a century, most Americans probably never saw a Krampus card or even knew who Krampus was. That changed in 2004, when art director and graphic designer Monte Beauchamp published a book of Krampus cards and helped organize an art show inspired by the cards. A seasonal play that spread throughout the Alpine regions was known as the Nikolausspiel [ de] ("Nicholas play"). Inspired by Paradise plays, [ citation needed] which focused on Adam and Eve's encounter with a tempter, the Nicholas plays featured competition for the human souls and played on the question of morality. In these Nicholas plays, Saint Nicholas would reward children for scholarly efforts rather than for good behavior. [27] This is a theme that grew in Alpine regions where the Roman Catholic Church had significant influence. [ citation needed] Perchtenlauf and Krampuslauf [ edit ]Run, Kris Kringle, Krampus is Coming!". Der Spiegel Online. 2 December 2008 . Retrieved 17 December 2011. Krampus is thought to come from either Bavarian: krampn, meaning "dead", "rotten", or from the German: kramp/krampen, meaning "claw". [5] [6] [7] The Krampus is considered to be a half-goat, half-demon monster in some legends. [8] Its role is to punish bad children or scare them into being good. [9] [10] Origins [ edit ] A person dressed as Krampus at Morzger Pass, Salzburg, Austria Crimmins, Peter (10 December 2011). "Horror for the Holidays: Meet the Anti-Santa". National Public Radio. Europeans have been exchanging greeting cards featuring Krampus since the 19th century. [29] Sometimes introduced with Gruß vom Krampus (Greetings from Krampus), the cards usually have humorous rhymes and poems. Krampus is often featured looming menacingly over children. He is also shown as having one human foot and one cloven hoof. In some, Krampus has sexual overtones; he is pictured pursuing buxom women. [30] Over time, the representation of Krampus in the cards has changed; older versions have a more frightening Krampus, while modern versions have a cuter, more Cupid-like creature. [ citation needed] Krampus has also adorned postcards and candy containers. [31] Regional variation [ edit ] Yule goat– Scandinavian decorative Christmas straw goat, a goat associated with the midwinter period among the North Germanic peoples