In the American tradition, Christmas is associated with “jolly-old Saint Nick” and presents under the Christmas tree. However the new movie “Krampus” highlights a lesser-known holiday tradition originating in Austria, which is far from happy and joyful.

Rachel Schilling ’16 explains that Krampus is basically the “anti- Saint Nicholas.” Krampus can appear in several different ways she said, but typically as a monster carrying a sac and cowbells. She said that in Germany Saint Nicholas is separate from Santa Claus, meaning that good children receive gifts on both Christmas Day and on Saint Nicholas’ feast day, which is celebrated on Dec. 6.

In the past, Krampus would travel around German villages with Saint Nicholas asking children if they had been good or bad, said Schilling. If the children were good, they would get candies and toys.  Schilling goes on to say, “If the child was bad, Krampus would pick up the child, put them in his sac, and carry them away.” Kamaal Haque, professor of German, added, “Krampus beats [bad children] with a switch” and that Krampus is basically “Santa’s bouncer.”

Schilling said that she had a “scary” experience with Krampus while she was an exchange student in Bad Reichenhall, Germany during high school. As she was sitting in a German culture class, her and the other students heard a loud noise from down the hall, coming from the cowbells Krampus traditionally carries. Schilling said that a man dressed up as the monster Krampus came into the classroom and started “screaming in everyone’s faces” and “scaring everyone.”

Today, Krampus is still popular in southern Germany, said Schilling. The Krampuslauf, or the Krampus run, happens on Dec. 5, the day before Saint Nicholas’ feast day. During the Krampuslauf, “young, college-aged men” run through southern German towns wearing “scary masks… looking like orcs from ‘Lord of the Rings,’” she said. Schilling compares Krampus and the Krampuslauf to a “haunted hayride, but Christmas themed.”

The film “Krampus” was appropriately released on Dec. 4, two days before Saint Nicholas’ feast day. The film stars Adam Scott of “Parks and Recreation” and Toni Collette of “The Sixth Sense” and “Little Miss Sunshine” as the parents of a young boy who turns his back on Christmas, which “unleashes the wrath” of Krampus, according to the Legendary Films website. This film focuses on Krampus “punishing” non-believers, rather than children who have been bad, which differs from the legend.

Haque said that if you are interested in learning more about Krampus, you can “watch Austrian actor Christoph Waltz’s interview on Jimmy Fallon:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbkGuCozc9M.