Chasing Krampus

The benevolent figure called Santa Claus in the United States is named Sankt Nikolaus in German-speaking lands. Nikolaus interviews German children to determine whether they have been good or bad during the past year. Nikolaus sensibly rewards good children, and whips bad ones with a birch rod.

Gifts were originally exchanged on Nikolaus’ feast day on the 6th of December; gift-giving was not transferred to Christmas day until the Reformation. On Nikolaus’ feast day children still place shoes, boots or stockings in the hopes of receiving nuts, chocolate, oranges, marzipan, or gingerbread. (Incidentally, German gingerbread, called Lebkuchen, is a treat well worth anticipating for a year. Buy the artisanal Elisenlebkuchen made in Nuremberg with love and nuts. Marzipan and Lebkuchen are the mainstays of the Christmas care packages that I mail to the United States.)

Rewarding good children and punishing the bad ones is a hard job, but Nikolaus doesn’t do it alone. Instead, Nikolaus is accompanied by a demonic entity named Krampus. The figure of Krampus is derived from the Roman god Cernunnos, the Horned God, and possibly also from the Greek god Pan. When Christianity was introduced to Europe, the Horned God was understood to represent the devil; in Tyrol, Krampus is also known as Tuifl, derived from the High German Teufel, or devil. Nikolaus is ambassador of heaven, whereas Krampus is clearly from the other place.

Krampus figure at the 2016 parade in Reutte.

The first literary sources to describe Nikolaus and Krampus date from the 1650s, and the tradition of Krampus is widespread throughout the former Habsburg empire. Krampus traditions were forbidden during the Inquisition on pain of death, but survived nonetheless in inaccessible mountainous regions of Austria including Tyrol and the Salzkammergut.

Krampus wears a costume made of sheepskin, goat hair, or potato sacks. Traditionally Krampus bore goat, ram, or ibex horns and a carved wooden mask. Modern Krampus masks may be made of aluminum, plastic, or rubber. Krampus usually wears a single large bell or several cowbells, and may rattle a chain and carry a birch rod. He sometimes wears a basket, which he uses to abduct bad children.

Krampus figures from the 2016 parade in Reutte. The basket is used to carry off impish children.

The Perchten are different from Krampus, though the terms ‘Krampus parade’ and ‘Perchten parade’ are often used interchangeably. Perchta is a pagan goddess whose name may mean “Bright One,” from the Old High German ‘beraht.’ Perchta may appear beautiful and bright, or haggard and old as the hills. The Perchten are her entourage, and like Perchta they come in two guises: the Schönperchten are benevolent and the Schiachperchten are malicious. Traditionally the Perchten appear after Christmas, ringing bells in a first brave effort to drive winter away. Parades of masked participants depicting demonic women, heathen gods, wild animals and perhaps the Celtic Wild Hunt were described in 500 AD. The Perchten cult enjoyed a renaissance in the 19th century and again at the end of the 20th century.

Krampustag is the 5th of December, while Nikolaus’ feast day is on the 6th of December. Krampus and Sankt Nikolaus may appear a week or two before Krampustag and continue to prowl the streets of Austria, Bavaria, Southern Tyrol and other lands until Christmas. Traditionally the Perchten appear during the Raunächten, the twelve nights between Christmas day and Epiphany on January 6th. Nowadays Perchten may prowl next to Krampus down the streets of Austrian villages during Advent.

If you and yours are in the mood for a bit of demonic holiday cheer, attending a Krampus parade will be a highlight of your time in Europe. Some of the largest Krampus parades in Austria are in Reutte, St. Johann im Pongau, Bad Goisern, and Klagenfurt. The dates and locations of the parades are not fixed from year to year, and researching the logistics involved will take a bit of intelligent guesswork.

Reutte 2016.

Tips on attending a Krampus parade

• Research the parade you wish to attend online before you make logistical plans. Check the date of the parade just prior to booking. Check the date again before driving across Austria to attend. Dates and times sometimes change as Krampus season approaches.
• Arrive in town early and ask for information locally from hotel receptionists or Christmas market vendors. Don’t expect the precise route of the parade to be available online. Locals already know exactly where the parade will take place, and only large cities with large parades expect guests from Germany or further abroad.
• DRESS WARMLY. Austrian kids will be wearing ski suits.
• SCOUT THE ROUTE BEFOREHAND. Scope out the parade route in advance on foot. Decide where you want to stand in order to have a good view.
• EAT BEFORE THE PARADE. The parade will start on time, but it can last anywhere from 15 minutes to 90 minutes. The town will be unusually crowded the night of a Krampus parade. You may not be able to get a meal in a restaurant afterwards due to unavailability of tables or the lateness of the hour. To cut down on tears and tiredness, grab a meal from the booths at the Christmas market (or, failing that, a bakery) before you stake out a place to watch the parade. Adults may want a cup of hot mulled wine. My better half likes a cup of mulled wine in each hand.
• ARRIVE EARLY at your chosen vantage point. If you arrive less than 30 minutes before the parade, you may not get to stand in the front row.
• Decide how much you want to engage with Krampus. If you want Krampus to get in your face, stand at the front. If you don’t want Krampus whipping your legs or getting you in an arm lock, then stand in the second or third row of viewers.
• Think about your kids’ tolerance for engaging with Krampus. Think about your tolerance for watching Krampus engage with your kids. If you will not appreciate the humor when Krampus grabs your ten-year-old boy in an arm lock and drags him laughing with glee down the cobblestone street to be extracted and returned to you by the fire department, then stand behind a barrier. If you are not cool with allowing Krampus to put his horned face up real close to your baby or smack your children in the legs with a birch whip, then stand behind a barrier.
• Don’t get blocked in. You may want a barrier between you and Krampus, but you don’t want a barrier between you and your escape route. Don’t stand where you can be trapped in an awkward corner between the barrier and a building by a crowd in an unpredictable mood.
• Keep an eye on the mood. If Krampus and his kin are allowed to drink, they will become progressively more drunk and more confrontational as the parade progresses. Austrian parents have a sixth sense for this, and will take their children home to dinner after the first hour has passed. Don’t be so pleased to finally get a spot on the rail that you forget to pay attention to how the composition of the crowd around you is changing.

Reutte 2016.

Resources

• It is possible to put together a road trip that allows you to attend one Christmas market every day and one Krampus parade every night. Our 2016 itinerary was: December 3rd: Christmas market in Reutte, Krampus parade in Reutte at 19:00. December 4th: multiple Christmas markets in Innsbruck, Krampus parade in downtown Innsbruck at 18:00. December 5th: Christmas market in Salzburg, first Krampus parade of the evening in downtown Salzburg at 17:30,  second Krampus parade at Christmas market at 19:00. December 6th: Krampus parade in Sankt Johann im Pongau. December 7th: visit Hallstatt; Krampus parade in Bad Goisern.
• The website called krampuszeit.at publishes dates, times and locations of Krampus parades starting a few months before the Christmas season. There are several parades on each date. Expect the information on the website to change, and check back occasionally.
• If you are looking for a Krampus parade in the Salzburg area, consult Salzburg’s website. You may wish to combine this with a visit to Salzburg’s various Christmas markets.
• The Krampuslauf in Bregenz is excellent and will be held on November 18th, 2017. One of two Christmas markets in Bregenz will already be up and running.
• Krampusnacht 2017 in Klagenfurt is on December 5th, 2017, and is publicized on everfest.
• The Krampuslauf in Bad Goisern is on December 7th, 2017 at 17:00.
• The Krampuslauf in Reutte is the best I have ever attended, but it is not held every year. Keep an eye out for this one on alternate years.
• A Krampus parade takes place during the Christmas market at Burg Stettenfels. The Christmas market runs from December 16th to 17th, 2017 and the Krampus parade is on Saturday afternoon.
• The Christmas market in Munich hosts a Krampus parade. In 2017 the parade is on December 10th at 15:00 and will take place a second time on December 17th at 16:00.
• The Krampus parade in Sankt Johann im Pongau is a little raw and a little rough. I recommend it only to dedicated, diehard Krampus chasers.

In 2016 the little town of Reutte provided quite a light show.

Music ranged from Carmina Burana to Rammstein.

Remarks

• A Krampus parade in the historic pedestrian area in a city such as Innsbruck or Salzburg that depends heavily on international tourism will be small and restrained. Innsbruck and Salzburg cannot afford to allow Krampus to run amok on their historic cobblestone streets, intimidate the tourists, or disrupt their famous Christmas markets. The masks and the costumes may be massive, elaborate, made of traditional materials, and carved with obsessive attention to detail. There will be no boozing, no pyrotechnics, no death metal. A Krampus parade in a suburb of Salzburg or Innsbruck, on the other hand, may be much larger and wilder with less traditional costumes and more barely leashed aggression.
• A Krampus parade in a tiny village that draws solely on its own economic resources will be small, possibly very traditional, and quick. The masks and the costumes may be costly and elaborate, but there won’t be a lot of Krampuses or a DJ or a light show, because a small village simply can’t afford the expense.
• A Krampus parade in a town or city that invites clubs from across the region to participate may be a very large production, far larger than the population of the town would suggest. For example, Reutte is not a large town but its 2016 parade boasted 950 Krampuses from across Austria, Switzerland and Germany. For this extraordinary production the town hired a DJ and hosted a light show. The entire affair cost €30k. Any Krampus parade that has its own website rather than being mentioned as an afterthought on a city website is a good bet.

Krampus followed by his loyal companion, the Fire Department.