K.A.C. 2013 - T - 20 ...

     Today we celebrate our K.A.C. mascot, KRAMPUS! Why? Because all over Europe, today (December 5th) is the Eve of Saint Nicholas, also known as Krampus Night or Krampusnacht. He was the star of our very first entry on November 12th, 2009, and has been haunting these pages ever since! His tale has been told and re-told across the Continent and slowly but surely he has made his presence known here in America. This year the Big K. has come on with a vengeance - check out this recent article from The Atlantic (with GREAT pictures)!

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/12/krampus-saint-nicholas-dark-companion/100639/

     

      The busy one has been stuffing naughty children into his sack for a LONG time - how long exactly? Per Wikipedia: 
     

“The history of the Krampus figure stretches back to pre-Christian Germanic traditions. He is sometimes said to be the son of Hel, from Norse mythology. He also shares characteristics, including goat-like ears, legs, feet and feet, with the satyrs and fauns of Greek mythology. The early Catholic Church discouraged celebrations based around the wild goat-like creatures, and during the Inquisition efforts were made to stamp them out.

But Krampus figures persisted, and by the 17th century Krampus had been incorporated into Christian winter celebrations by pairing them with St. Nicholas.

Countries of the former Habsburg empire have largely borrowed the tradition of Krampus accompanying St.Nicholas on 5 December from Austria. However, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia the mythological figure (called čert) evolved from the Slavic demon chort and although nearly the same in appearance, it comes from a tradition distinct from that of Alpine nations.”

     

      And just to show HOW popular he is becoming in America, our favorite stocking (well, sack) stuffer is now available on ... appropriately enough, this great stocking! :) It's available from Archie McPhee at http://mcphee.com/shop/krampus-stocking.html for only $12.00!  That should keep the kiddies in their place! :) Also, there's one more Krampus item that is so amazing, we are giving it its own space in a later article ... bear with us, it's worth the wait! 

     Now I know what you're thinking, "Yeah, yeah, so there's a stocking and an article - Big Deal! It's not like American kids have ever really heard of him!" Wrong again! Most kids do know about him, as he has worked his way into different comics, books and TV shows (such as The Colbert Report, The Venture Brothers, American Dad and Scooby Doo)! Here's a clip from that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKAM8u_GfFA

     We'll leave you today with this audio tidbit: Tales of the Krampus ... listen and learn!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpT4vvz2fTM  

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     More tomorrow!