Today we are celebrating Saint Nicholas Day. During the night Saint Nicholas filled the children´s boots with gifts and sweets, and at the same time checked up on the children if they were good, polite and helpful last year. Saint Nicholas is usually accompanied by Krampus (the word originates from the Old High German word for claw, "Krampen"), a demon-like creature warning and punishing bad children. If the children were not good, he puts a tree branch in their boots. In this photo you can see some Saint Nicholas and Krampus sweets.
Interesting you have Sint Nicolas to in Vienna. We in Holland can use your Krampus so we won't have the discussion about Black Pieter who has the same function as your Krampus but is a black Moor played by white men painted black. Now they are accused of discrimination . In an interesting experiment on television Sint Nicolas was a black man from origin and Black Pieter a white man. The kids in the age of 4 to 6 where so impressed by the present of Sint Nicolas that they din't noticed the difference at all. Even when asked by the presenter of the program. So what the fuss.
ReplyDeleteWow, Krampus would no doubt give children the heebie jeebies!
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