Tomorrow is December 6, Saint Nicholas day. It is a day for celebration as we remember Jolly ol’ St. Nic and his donkey bringing gifts to all the good boys and girls. But such a day is not without its hazards, for the night before Saint Nicholas Day, December 5th, THIS DAY, is the night of the KRAMPUS! Gruss von Krampus! Yes tonight is Krampusnacht, the evening when Saint Nicholas’ devilish compatriot stalks the streets, seeking out the naughty and handing out punishments most severe! A horrifying beast, the Krampus has thick matted fur, demonic horns, and he marches on two strong goat like hooves.

If you have been naughty and you’re lucky, you will merely be whipped by the Krampus’ branches of birch. But the unlucky, they suffer a fate far worse. The Krampus picks them up and throws them in his sack. He then takes the wicked children back to his lair where he drowns them, eats them, or even transports them directly to HELL!!! No amount of begging can save these children from their fate.

So I hope that you have been good this year, for if you have been naughty, you may just hear the Krampus’ cloven feet slowly clomping down the hallway with birch in his hand and a sac on his back. Pray you only get the stick.