Have yourself a scary little Christmas! From Krampus to the butcher who feeds children to St. Nick, here are 7 horrifying Christmas traditions you never knew existed. Merry Christmas, and remember, whatever you d0…don’t be naughty.
7 Creepy Christmas Traditions from Around the World
1. Krampus
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You knew Krampus was going to be on the list, and we aim to please! Krampus is everybody’s favorite killer Christmas creeper. An ancient tradition in Germany, Austria and Croatia, he leapt into the American spotlight with the 2015 movie.
This horned, hairy, tongue-wagging creature is celebrated every Dec. 5 on Krampusnacht (Krampus night), where parades are held in his honor. Believed to be inspired by earlier mythical creatures, Krampus began to terrorize the minds of kinder in the 17th century. The story goes that on Krampusnacht, Krampus leaves good kids gifts and beats the bad ones with his “rod” or “branch.” Ho-ho-horrifying.
2. Mari Lwyd
Image: Wikipedia
If you like caroling and dead animals, you’re going to LOVE the Welsh custom of Mari Lwyd. In this merry tradition, men take a horse’s skull, adorn it with ribbons, drape it in a sheet and go house-to-house, singing. The house dwellers sing back, denying the carolers entry. This continues until the carolers are allowed in, and are given food and ale.
The custom fell out of fashion for a while (we can’t imagine why), but it’s being brought back, allowing Wales to enjoy dead horses, song and drink once more. Iechyd da!
3. Grylla the Christmas Troll
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This cherished Christmas threat comes from Iceland. Thirteen-tailed Grylla minds her business for most of the year, but on Christmas Eve she comes down from her mountain dwelling and abducts naughty village children. Then she takes the little ones back to her cave to cook them into a stew and — you guessed it — eat them.
To add to the terror, Grylla doesn’t kill the kids first. She boils them alive. Our guess is that Icelandic children are very well-behaved.
4. Frau Perchta
Image: tangerfiv.com
We return to Austria to find a goddess who has a mean streak. According to legend, Frau Perchta flies through the night with her band of menacing men, the Perchten (see above), to disembowl naughty children. Eew.
Perchta is said to be an old woman dressed in rags, while her posse bear a striking resemblance to Krampus…yikes. I’m not sure about you, but that would have scared me straight as a child.
5. Norwegian Christmas Witches
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We thought you could use a little levity right about now, so here’s a tradition that doesn’t involve either flailing or consuming innocent children. In Norway, it’s believed that on the night before Christmas (Jul), witches break into homes and steal brooms to fly on. Then they just leave — thank goodness.
Because of this, the children of the household hide the brooms on Christmas eve. Honestly, this one is less creepy than cute. Well…except for the witches. And the breaking-and-entering. Okay, we take it back.
6. Père Fouettard
Image: Wikipedia
With a name that means “father whipper,” you know things aren’t going to be good. Today, this bad dad simply doles out gifts to the good and beatings to the naughty — standard scare-kids-poopless stuff, right? — but the origins are more sinister.
According to a 12th century legend, Fouettard was a butcher who cut up local children and tried to feed them to St. Nicholas. St. Nick magically brought the children back to life. The jolly old elf then instructed Fouettard to follow him around on Christmas Eve and beat the bad kids. Great.
7. The Kallikantzaroi
Image: greek123.com
Greece brings us this tale of tiny goblins out to urinate in your plants…oh, and end the world. That’s right: the kallikantzaroi despise the world of the living and are out to destroy it for good. But in our opinion, they do it in some rather odd ways.
These tiny goblins, who are variously described as miniature humanoids or fugly, hooved animals, destroy furniture and trees, spoil food, urinate in strange places, and “make water unholy.” They do their dirty deeds throughout Epiphany, the period on the Christian calendar from Christmas to January 6. Then away they gambol to the underworld, where apparently they plan next year’s weirdness.
Hope you enjoyed these creepy Christmas traditions. Have one of your own to share? Let us know in the comments below!
