Five Things to Know for Krampusnacht

1. Who or what is Krampus? - we’ll give you the brief version: according to certain traditions, der Nikolaus (St. Nicholas) is sometimes accompanied by a “helper” to deal with the naughty kids while he reads stories and gives presents to the good kids: either Knecht Ruprecht or the feared goat-demon Krampus, who wears a basket to carry bad children away! But in parts of Europe – and recently even here in North America – there’s also a growing tradition of people dressing up in truly frightening Krampus costumes and forming a parade in the village to wreak havo