Christmas Elves....

 

🎄 Christmas Elves ⛄

We all know of Santa and his workshop of elves, but we're did this story come from what are the  origins of the jolly fat man's helpers?

 The modern elf folklore come  from Norse/Scandinavian mythology, the Nisse or house gnome and the  álfar, also called  huldufólk or  hildafolk 'hidden folk'.

Sweden's gift giver before Santa was the Tomten and the Yule Goat though by 1891, the Good old St Nick had merged with Tomten, who was originally an elf or gnome like farm guardian  (like the Nisse).  following the work of Jenny Nyström, this new combination of  old and new Christmas figures became  the Jultomten.

In Nordic countries, Nisse are the closest thing you could consider as Christmas Elves even though  nisse are not actually  elves and they will usually  only wear red instead of the green and red outfits that elves are known for in most western  countries.

 Several  Norse legend were likely combined with other Scandinavian and Celtic legends and myths about these small magic beings.

All kinds of stories about elves, fairies  nature spirits and even gnomes can be found from  multiple regions through Europe there are also similar supernatural beings that could be connected to elves, such as kobolds or duende  from Germany Mexico and South America or the Scottish house spirits called brownies. In Medieval Europe, elves were seen as tricksters and were often linked to demons especially after the christianization of Europe most things of a supernatural or otherworldly nature where considered evil.

The modern  Christmas elf + working in Santa's workshop) appeared in literature as early as 1850 when Louisa May Alcott (Little Women ) completed, but never published a book called Christmas Elves. 

Though a earlier reference to Christmas elf's can be found  In the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas (   'Twas the Night Before Christmas), by  Clement Clarke Moore, Santa Claus himself is described in line 45: "He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf".

The image of the elves in the workshop was also popularized by Godey's Lady's Book, with a front cover illustration for its 1873 Christmas issue showing Santa surrounded by toys and elves with the caption "Here we have an idea of the preparations that are made to supply the young folks with toys at Christmas time".

 During this time, Godey's was a very influential figure to the birth of some of our Christmas traditions, having shown the first widely circulated picture of a modern Christmas tree on the front cover of its 1850 Christmas issue. Additional recognition was also given in Austin Thompson's 1876 work "The House of Santa Claus, a Christmas Fairy Show (Christmas play) for Sunday Schools"

A few other versions of elf's or helpers are

Ded Moroz (father Frost / Grandfather Frost )  and his grand daughter Snegurochka (Frost Maiden) from Russia ⛄🎁

Knecht Ruprecht from Germany.🍻🎅

The  Hoesecker in  Luxembourg.🦌

Zwarte Piet (Black Peter) In the Netherlands and Belgium who accompany Saint Nicholas on his global gift giving.🎄

And lastly the modern Christmas tradition involving that ever watchful snitch The Elf on the Shelf  .🧝‍♂️👀

Hopefully none of you are on the naughty list, this year 🙂

Have a great Christmas and happy New Year.

🎄🎁🎅⛄🦌🎄

🦇M🦇

Last Post for the year, thanks for stopping by and have an awesome 2025🎆🎇

Karampusnacht.🐐🎄

Krampusnacht is celebrated on December 5 every year across Germany, other European countries, and Austria. It's celebrated the night before the  Feast of St. Nicholas, a night when people dress up as the  Krampus and chase naughty children through the streets.       

 In the old stories St. Nicholas would travel with krampus on the night of December 5th.

He would rewards good children by leaving presents, Krampus would  beat those who are naughty with branches and sticks. In some cases, he is said to eat them or throgh them in his basket and take them to hell. 

In the 21st century, many Alpine countries continue to celebrate the Krampusnacht with parades, where the townsmen dress like devils and run through the streets chasing after children and naughty parents alike

If you hear hooves on the roof top tonight, it may not be reindeer lol

Walpurgisnacht, Night of the Witch's

 

Walpurgis Night, also known as 'Walpurgisnacht or Hexennacht  english Night of the Witches', is a Germanic pagan festival celebrated each year on 30 April. The celebration includes lighting bonfires at sunset and singing, it signifies  the arrival of spring.

Walpurgis Night originated in ancient  pagan festivities that celebrated the coming of spring. It always falls on April 30th the eve of May 1st exactly six months before Halloween.


Halloween and Walpurgisnacht both have their origins in pagan celebrations ( Samhain and Beltane) they marked the changing of the seasons. They are also believed to be when the veil between the spirit worlds and ours was at its thinnest.

.Saint Walpurga.

During the christianization of Europe and the forced conversion of formerly pagan worshipers the celebration like many other's  at the time became blended, a combination of old world beliefs and the newly emerging christian church

According to legend of an English nun named Walpurga came to Germany in the late eighth century with the mission of Christianizing the Saxons. She later became an abbess at the Heidenheim monastery.


Saint Walpurga was known for ridding "pest, rabies and whooping cough”, Walpurga was also celebrateed for  putting an end to pagan sorcery. After her canonisation, Christians would pray via Walpurga to God, to protect them from witchcraft.

Walpurga is traditionally associated with May 1 because of a medieval account of her being canonised on that date in 870 AD. The date’s overlap with the pagan celebration is believed to   coincidental, but by entwining the two customs, pagans could continue celebrating their spring festival without fear of reprisal from the church.

on April 30 thousands of Germans  make pilgrimages to Saint Walpurga’s tomb in Eichstätt, to collect a vial of her healing oil, serving as a reminder of the curious dual history of this unusual celebration.

pagan beliefs  like herbalism and old rituals, continued into the 16th century and were prevalent in the more remote parts of Germany, like the Harz Mountains, until the widespread witch hysteria began to take hold throughout Europe. 

 

Pagan practices that  until then had been more or less accepted were suddenly deemed “evil” and “superstitious” and those practicing them were often tortured and later condemned to death. Medieval Germany had some of the largest and most gruesome witch hunts in history. Walpurgisnacht is even sometimes referred to as the Hexenbrunnen (the burning of the witches) due to its bloody past.

This mass hysteria coalesced around the belief that Mount Brocken - the highest peak of the Harz Mountains - was the scene of Witches’ Sabbaths. These were said to be wild and orgiastic gatherings at which witches would meet with Satan to plot trouble, mischief and evil for the coming year. This was commonly believed to take place on April 30 - the date that Pagan legend claims, the devil Wotan married his beloved Freya on the peak of the Brocken.

To keep away “evil spirits”, people would make loud noises, light huge bonfires and burn straw men and old belongings for good luck on April 30, many of these traditions are still done today.

Modern-day celebrations of Walpurgisnacht in Germany  includes dressing up in costumes, hanging blessed sprigs of foliage from houses and leaving offerings of Ankenschnitt (bread with butter and honey) for phantom hounds.

There is also plenty of beer and traditional German food its become a sort of second Halloween.

Local variants of Walpurgis Night are observed throughout Northern and Central Europe in the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, and Estonia. In Finland, Denmark and Norway, the tradition with bonfires to ward off the witches is observed as Saint John's Eve, which commemorates the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.

In Finland Walpurgis Night and May Day are effectively merged into a single celebration that is usually referred to as Vappu and that is among the country’s most important holidays. Initially, Walpurgis Night was celebrated by the Finnish upper class. Then, in the late 19th century, students (most notably engineering students) took up its celebration. Today merrymaking begins on the evening of April 30, often augmented with the drinking of alcoholic beverages, particularly sparkling wine. The carnival-like festivities carry over to the next day, frequently taking on a family dimension, as friends and relatives picnic in parks among balloons and consume sima, a homemade low-alcohol (and sometimes not so alcohol)mead

In Finland the celebration begins in the afternoon and in Helsinki it officially starts with the capping of the Havis Amanda statue at the Market Square (similar ceremonies take place in other cities as well). People toast with champagne and wish each other ‘Glada Vappen’ (Finland Swedish) or Hauskaa Vappua (Finnish).
The celebration goes on all night and continues until the morning of May 1st where the parks are filled with people having champagne picnics. During the day the city is filled with flowers, balloons, whistles and parades and other events are held around town.  Walpurgis, Valborg (short for Valborgsmässoafton), or the last of April is a traditional spring celebration in Sweden. For students, it's a foretaste of summer. At dusk, bonfires are lit and people gather to listen to speeches and songs welcoming spring and a brighter future.

 

Had this scheduled to post last night, not sure why it didn't but anyway Happy Beltane /May Day

Wolpertinger: German Jackalope

  

 

Wolpertinger

    
The Wolperdinger is the German equivalent of the American jackalope.


Wolperdinger also sometimes called wolperdinger or woiperdinger) is a rabbit like i that lives in the alpine forests of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany.

It's a rabbit like  chimera and usually said to have a  body made up of various animal parts – ...wings, antlers, a tail, and fangs; all attached to the body of a small mammal.

The most will know version of the Wolpertinger had the head of a rabbit, the body of a squirrel, the antlers of a deer, and the wings and occasionally the legs of a pheasant.

 

Stuffed "wolpertingers", made of parts of actual taxidermy animals, can be found  in pubs and inns or sold to tourists as souvenirs in the animal's .

The Deutsches Jagd- und Fischereimuseum in Munich, Germany features a permanent exhibit on the Cryptid.

Its similar to  other creatures from German mythology like the Rasselbock of the Thuringian Forest, the Dilldapp of the Alemannic region, and the Elwedritsche of the Palatinate region, this one is usually describe as a chicken-like creature with antlers; other similar Cryptids are  the American Jackalope (see previous post) other well Known horned hares are the Swedish Skvader and the  raurakl from Australia.

 Wolpertingers can be found in the forests of Bavaria. 

It has slightly different  names depending on the region.....most common are  Wolperdinger, Woipertingers, and Volpertinger. They are part of a larger family of horned mammals that exist throughout the Germanic regions of Europe, such as the Austrian Raurackl, which is nearly identical to the German Wolpertinger.

Frau Perchta, Christmas Witch.

 

Frau Perchta


Frau Perchta was also known as Berchta, or Bertha, and has also been called “Spinnstubenfrau” or “Spinning Room Lady.”
 

She is often depicted with a beaked nose made of iron, dressed in rags, sometimes  carrying a cane, and usually resembles a  old woman.


In some descriptions, she has two forms; she may appear as either a beautiful young woman with skin and hair as white as snow, or as elderly and haggard.

In the Tyrol she appears as little old woman with a very wrinkled face, bright lively eyes, and a long hooked nose; her hair is disheveled, her garments  tattered and torn.

In many old descriptions, Perchta had one large foot, sometimes called a goose foot or swan foot.

Grimm thought the strange foot symbolized her being a higher being who could shapeshift to animal form. He noticed that Bertha with a strange foot exists in many languages (Middle German "Berhte mit dem fuoze", French "Berthe au grand pied", Latin "Berhta cum magno pede",  Italian " Berta dai gran piè", title of a medieval epic poem of Italian area): "It is apparently a swan maiden's foot, which as a mark of her higher nature she cannot lay aside...and at the same time the spinning-woman's splayfoot that worked the treadle".


Perchta had many different names depending on the era and region: Grimm (The Brothers Grimm) listed the names Perahta and Berchte as the main names
followed by Berchta in Old High German, as well as Behrta and Frau Perchta.

In Baden, Swabia, Switzerland and Slovenian regions, she was often called Frau Faste (the lady of the Ember days) or Pehta or 'Kvaternica',
in Slovene. Elsewhere she was known as Posterli, Quatemberca and Fronfastenweiber.


Percht and other variations, was once known as a goddess in Alpine paganism in the Upper German and Austrian regions of the Alps. Her name may mean
 "the bright one" Perchta may also come from an  Old High German verb pergan, meaning "hidden" or "covered



She also bears a resemblance to the Scandinavian goddess Frigga, and both of them share a common trait: spinning, specifically, and domestic neatness  general.

Other legends equate Frau Perchta with the legend of the Wild Hunt, and say that she flies through the night sky followed by an army of lost souls,  including the demonic-looking Perchten, her army of servants who are almost identical in appearance to Krampus.

The only difference is that Krampus rides abroad at St. Nicholas Eve while the Perchten travel  closer too Epiphany, and the last three Thursdays before Christmas, also known as Berchtl nights or Knocking nights.


Also among her army of the night are the souls of unbaptized children. Legend has it if you hear the wind and thunder roaring and rumbling through the  mountains on the Berchtl nights, you’re really hearing the sounds of Perchta leading the Wild Hunt.

Another one of Frau Perchta’s names is Holle, a winter goddess who’s name means “shining” or “bright” — hence her association with Epiphany, the “Shining Night” on which the star of Bethlehem shone down.

 

 

 
Her dual nature is expressed in the fact that there are both “Evil” or “Ugly” Perchten and “Pretty” Perchten, both of whom you might find in a typical “Perchtenlauf” or Perchten run in the Alpine regions of Europe.

                                                

In Austria, particularly Salzburg, where she is said to wander through Hohensalzburg Castle in the dead of night,  the Perchten are still a traditional part of  holidays and festivals (such as the Carnival Fastnacht). The wooden  masks made for the festivals are today called Perchten.

In the Pongau region of Austria large processions of Schönperchten ("beautiful Perchten") and Schiachperchten ("ugly Perchten") are held every winter.

Beautiful masks are said to encouraging financial windfalls, and the ugly masks are worn to drive away evil spirits.


Other regional variations include the Tresterer in the Austrian Pinzgau region, the stilt dancers in the town of Unken, the Schnabelpercht or Schnabelperchten  ("trunked Percht") in the Unterinntal region and the Glöcklerlaufen ("bell-running") in the Salzkammergut.

A number of large ski-resorts have turned the tradition into a tourist attraction drawing large crowds every winter. 

 

 

In southern Austria, in Carinthia there is  a male form of Perchta called  Quantembermann, in German, or Kvaternik, in Slovene (the man of the four Ember days).

Grimm thought that her male counterpart or equivalent is Berchtold.

Regional variations of the name include Berigl, Berchtlmuada, Perhta-Baba, Zlobna Pehta, Bechtrababa, Sampa, Stampa, Lutzl, Zamperin, Pudelfrau,  Zampermuatta and Rauweib.

                    

Perchta was the upholder of cultural taboos, such as the prohibition against spinning on holidays.

In  Bavaria and Austria folklore, Perchta was said to roam the countryside at midwinter, and to enter homes during the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany (especially on the Twelfth Night).

She would know whether the children and young servants of the household had behaved well and worked hard all year.

If they had, they might find a small silver coin the next day, in a shoe or pail.


If they had not, she would slit their bellies open, remove their stomach and guts, and stuff the hole with straw and pebbles.
                                             

She is manly focused on whether or not  girls had spun the whole of their allotted portion of flax or wool during the year.

 
She would also slit people's stomachs open and stuff them with straw if they ate something on the night of her feast day, other than the traditional meal of fish and gruel.

There was even a  cult dedicated to Perchta, the followers would leave food and drink's for Frau Percht and her followers in the hope of receiving wealth and good fortune, it was later condemned in Bavaria in the Thesaurus pauperum (1468) and by Thomas Ebendorfer von Haselbach in De decem praeceptis (1439).






Later canonical and church documents characterized Perchta as synonymous with other leading female spirits: Holda, Diana, Herodias, Richella and Abundia


According to Jacob Grimm and Lotte Motz, Perchta is Holda's southern cousin or equivalent, as they both share the role of "guardian of the beasts"  and appear during the Twelve Days of Christmas, when they oversee spinning.


Grimm says Perchta or Berchta was known "precisely in those Upper German regions where Holda leaves off, in Swabia, in Alsace, in Switzerland, in Bavaria and Austria."



Perchta is  a "rewarder of the generous, and the punisher of the bad, particularly lying children".

Pagan Origins of Easter and The Easter Bunny

 

         -------------Happy Easter----------------

                          =============================================

                    🐰Hope everyone has a great Good Friday and an awesome Easter!🐰

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Like many modern Christian holidays, Easter  and the Easter Bunny can be traced back at least in part too older pagan traditions and celebrations .

 

The festival of Ostara / Ēostr

 

                                                

                                                         

                                                      

                                                        Goddess Ostara/ Easter...

 

In most Europe countries , the name for Easter is derived from the Jewish festival of Passover.

In Greek the feast is called Pascha, in Italian Pasqua, in Danish it is Paaske, and in French it is Paques,"

But in English-speaking countries, and in Germany, Easter takes its name from a pagan goddess from Anglo-Saxon England who was described in a book by the eighth-century English monk Bede.

Ostara otherwise known as Ēostre, is the Germanic  goddess of spring and dawn and fertility. 

 

On the old Germanic calendar, the equivalent month to April was called “Ōstarmānod” – or Easter-month.

Ēostre is attested solely by Bede  in his 8th-century work The Reckoning of Time, where Bede states that during Ēosturmōnaþ (the equivalent of April), the pagan feasts in Ēostre's honor, but that this tradition had died out by his time, replaced by the Christian Paschal Month  a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.

 Historic linguists  have also traced the name to a Proto-Indo-European goddess of the dawn   Ausṓs from which descends the Common Germanic divinity from whom Ēostre and Ostara are held to descend.

 

 Scholars have also  linked the goddess's name to a variety of Germanic personal names, a series of location names in England, and, discovered in 1958, over 150 inscriptions from the 2nd century CE referring to the matrona Austriahenae.


There are several theory's that connect Ēostre with records of Germanic Easter customs  that alsoincl hares and Egg's. Particularly prior to the discovery of the matronae Austriahenae and further developments in Indo European studies, there have been several debates  among some scholars about whether or not the goddess was an invention of Bede. Ēostre and Ostara are sometimes referenced in modern popular culture and are venerated in some forms of Germanic neopaganism.

  ==============

During pre-christian times, people have celebrated the equinoxes and the solstices as sacred times

The spring equinox is a day where the amount of dark and the amount of daylight is exactly identical, so you can tell that you're emerging from winter because the daylight and the dark have come back into balance. The cycle of birth, death and rebirth...."People would plan out their whole life according to the patterns of nature.

Once Christianity took root across Euroup, the Easter period became associated with the resurrection of Christ.

In the first couple of centuries after Jesus's life, feast days in the new Christian church were attached to old pagan festivals,

Spring festivals  were to celebrate the end of winter and the retrn of warmer seasons, the main theme was new life and relief from the cold of winter this later became connected to the resurrected of Christ after the crucifixion.

 In 325AD the first major church council, the Council of Nicaea, determined that Easter should fall on the Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox.

This is why the date moves and why Easter celebrations are sometimes referred to as "moveable feasts".

There's a defined period between March 25 and April 25 on which Easter Sunday must fall, and that's determined by the movement of the planets and the Sun.

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 Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny 

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Ostre is a goddess of fertility her main  animal symbols are bunny and eggs. 

Rabbits are  known for their high rate breeding as such they have traditionally symbolized fertility, and eggs represent new life.

 

It’s believed that decorating eggs for Easter dates back to at least  the 13th century. 

 People began decorating eggs and eating them as a treat following mass on Easter Sunday after fasting through Lent.this is still something that happens in modern times, especially in eastern European countries like Poland.

During the 19th century Russian high society also started exchanging ornately decorated eggs—even jewel encrusted one's on Easter.

                                  

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                   -----The Easter Bunny-----

 

 

According to some sources, the Easter bunny first arrived in America with German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania..

 

The first association of the rabbit with Easter was a mention in  the "Easter hare"  a book by a German professor of medicine Georg Franck von Franckenau published in 1682.

He recalled a folk story that hares would hide the colored eggs that children hunted for, which would indicate that at least as early as the 17th century, decorated eggs were hidden in gardens for egg hunts.

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Von Franckenau taught anatomy, chemistry and botany in Jena and became a professor of medicine at the University of Heidelberg.

  In his "On Easter Eggs" essay, which he published around 1682, he considers ancientpagan symbols of life and fertility connected with religious traditions. 

 On the Easter bunny, he says this ---in Alsace, and neighboring regions, these eggs are called rabbit eggs because of the myth told to fool simple people and children that the Easter Bunny is going around laying eggs and hiding them in the herb gardens. 

So the children look for them, even more enthusiastically, to the delight of smiling adults. 

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These legends were preserved and improved upon by the Pennsylvania Dutch, who referred to the Bunny as the Oschter Haws. 

Beginning in the1680s, children around Germantown Pennsylvania would build nests out of hatsand bonnets, place them in the yard, or out by the barn and, on Easter morning, they would be found filled with colorful eggs. 

The decorated hats and bonnets eventually evolved into Easter baskets.

These custom's later spread across the U.S. and the bunny’s Easter morning deliveries would later  include chocolate and other types of candy and gifts, while decorated baskets replaced nests, children often leave out carrots for the bunny in case he gets  hungry from all his hopping.

 '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

The Easter Bunny  or  Easter Rabbit 

This magic mythic bunny is believed to have  originated  among German Lutherans, the "Easter Hare" originally played the role of a judge(similar to Santa and his list), he would  determine  whether or not child's behavior  had been good or bad in at the start of the season of Eastertide. 

The Easter Bunny is sometimes depicted with clothes. In legend, he carries colored eggs, candy, and sometimes even toys in his basket  to the homes of children, another  similarity he shares   Santa Claus, they both bring gifts to children on the night before their respective holidays.

 

                                                 ----------------------------------------

Bunnies aren’t the only animal traditionally associated with Easter in every country. Some identify the holiday with other types of animals like foxes and even the  cuckoo birds.

whatever you believe in bunny fox or bird i hop you all have a great Easter weekend.

 

                      :) Happy Easter :)

Christmas: Krampus the Christmas Demon.

                                                       Krampus the Christmas Demon.



Krampus can be found in the folklore of many different European country's ... Austria, Bavaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, North Italy, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

His exact origin is unclear; some folklorists believe it to  have pre-Christian roots.

There are various traditional parades and events, a well known one is  the Krampuslauf (English: Krampus run), mostly young men dressed as Krampus to participate this is an annually  event  in most Alpine towns. 

 Krampus is also featured on holiday greeting cards called Krampuskarten.


By the 17th century Krampus had been incorporated into Christian winter celebrations by pairing Krampus with St. Nicholas.

Countries of the former Habsburg Empire  have largely borrowed the tradition of Krampus accompanying St. Nicholas on December  5th from Austria.


 A more  recent myth is that Krampus was the son of Hel the Norse goddess of the underworld, this myth  has been popularized on the internet, even appearing in an  articles in National Geographic and Smithsonian Magazine.

 However, this connection is likely the invention of the American fantasy artist and author Gerald Brom whose 2012 novel Krampus the Yule Lord features Krampus as the main protagonist.

The same idea also appeared shortly afterwards in two online games by the Norwegian games producer Funcom.


==============



Krampus, seems to the most popular holiday monster or at least one of the most well known he si described as a half-goat, half-demon, said to be hairy, usually brown or black, and has the cloven hooves  and the  horns of a goat. His long, pointed tongue hangs out, and he has fangs.

Krampus literally beats people into being nice.
He arrives with a chain  that he swings around, along with a bundle of birch sticks meant to swat ill behaved children. He carry's the bad kids down to the underworld

 Well Santa or St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children. ..Krampus is more of an anti Santa..

This yuletide demon was often seen accompanying  St. Nicholas on his Christmas journey from house to house.

However well St Nick rewarded well behaved children with sweets and toys Krampus. would beat the bad  kid's, stuff them in a sack, and take them away to his lair.

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      Celebrations...
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                                   Krampusnacht--Krampus Night and the  Krampus Run/parade

People have been dressing up like Krampus for centuries. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, devil masks were used at winter church plays.

                                                          Old wooden Krampus masks...

On Krampusnacht in modern times, men dress up in Krampus costumes made of sheepskin. Women sometimes dress up as a Nordic figure named Frau Perchta.

This time of the year there are parades and parties and a lot of them  often have a  Krampuslauf—or Krampus Run—where people run through the streets dressed as Krampus.

The day has increasingly become commercialized. Krampus has appeared on cards and ornaments over the years. He has also been  graphic novels, television shows, video games, and movies.

Krampus night  is held annually on December 5th.

The next Krampusnacht, --- Krampus Night, will be on Saturday, December 5th, 2020.

The next day December 6th is The Feast of St Nickolas ...
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                                                         St. Nickolas vs Krampus

There is also  a seasonal play that spread throughout the Alpine regions it was known as the Nikolausspiel ("Nicholas play").

Inspired by Paradise plays, which focused on Adam and Eve's encounter with a tempter, the Nicholas plays featured competition for the human souls and played on the question of morality.

In these Nicholas plays, Saint Nicholas would reward children for scholarly efforts rather than for good behavior. 

 This is a theme that grew in Alpine regions where the Roman Catholic Church  had significant influence.

There were already established pagan traditions in the Alpine regions that became intertwined with Catholicism. People would masquerade as a devilish figure known as Percht, a two-legged humanoid goat with a giraffe-like neck, wearing animal furs.

 People wore costumes and marched in processions known as Perchtenlaufs, which are regarded as any earlier form of the Krampus runs. Perchtenlaufs were looked at with suspicion by the Catholic Church and banned by some civil authorities. Due to sparse population and rugged environments within the Alpine region, the ban was not effective or easily enforced, rendering the ban useless. Eventually the Perchtenlauf, inspired by the Nicholas plays, introduced Saint Nicholas and his set of good morals. The Percht transformed into what is now known as the Krampus and was made to be subjected to Saint Nicholas' will

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Krampus has appeared in several tv shows and movies even a Christmas ep of The Venture Bothers..

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=========== VINTAGE Krampus Christmas Cards====
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This is my last post before Christmas, hope you all have a great holiday and a Happy New Year Merry Christmas!! and thank you for an awesome 2019! :)

Christmas: Coca Cola and the Santa Connection

 Did you know Santa wasn't always depicted as a jolly bearded fat man ....

In fact the most well know version of Santa we have today is largely thanks to the marketing efforts of the Coca Cola Company...

Before  1931, Santa came in many different form's ranging from  a tall slender man to a very creepy -looking elf and almost everything in between....

In some area's he was seen as  Norse Huntsman in animal skins and in others he was dressed in a similar fashion to that of  a  bishop's robe.

There are regional differences in the type of suit that Santa Claus wears.

Usually in  United Kingdom  and the USA  Santa wears a red jacket and pants with white fur trim,  a broad buckled belt, a matching hat, and black boots.

 In other area's of  European  Austria for instance Santa is called Saint Nicholas  and is seen with a  long robe and a Bishop's mitre^.
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 During the American Civil War cartoonist Thomas Nast drew his version of Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly in 1862, Santa was shown as a small gnome or elf like being who supported the Union.

Nast continued to draw Santa for 30 years, changing the color of his coat from tan originally and ending with the red that we know today.

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                                  Nast Santa in red 1881

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The Coca-Cola Company first started there Christmas advertising in the 1920s with  newspaper's and magazines like on of the first was  The Saturday Evening Post.

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In 1930, artist Fred Mizen painted a department-store Santa in a crowd drinking a bottle of Coke. The ad featured the world's largest soda fountain, which was located in the department store Famous Barr Co. in St. Louis, Mo. Mizen's painting was used in print ads that Christmas season, appearing in The Saturday Evening Post in December 1930.

                                           Fred Mizen  - Santa 1930

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 In 1931 Coke began placing Coca-Cola ads in other popular magazines of the time.

Archie Lee, the D'Arcy Advertising Agency executive working with The Coca-Cola Company, wanted to show a Santa who was both realistic and symbolic.

Coca-Cola hired Haddon Sundblom to develop advertising images using Santa Claus — showing Santa himself, not a man dressed as Santa.

One of  Sundblom main source of inspiration was  Clement Clark Moore's 1822 poem  Twas the Night Before Christmas. 

Moore's description of St. Nick led to an image of a warm, friendly, pleasantly plump and human Santa. (And even though it's often said that Santa wears a red coat because red is the color of Coca-Cola, Santa appeared in a red coat before Sundblom painted him.

Sundblom’s Santa first debuted in 1931 in Coke ads in The Saturday Evening Post and appeared regularly in that magazine, as well as in Ladies Home Journal, National Geographic, The New Yorker and many others.

From 1931 to 1964, Coca-Cola showed Santa delivering toys , reading a child's christmas letter and of course enjoy a cold Coke.

 The original oil paintings Sundblom created were adapted for Coca-Cola advertising in magazines and on store displays, billboards, posters, calendars and plush dolls. Many of those items today are sot after by memorabilia collectors.
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Mr. Sundblom created his last version of Santa in 1964, Coca-Cola advertising featured his images of Santa for decades afterwords . 

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These paintings are some of the most prized pieces in the art collection in the Cola  company’s archives department and have been on exhibit around the world, in famous locations..

 Many of his Original paintings can be seen at the World of Coca Cola in Atlanta, Georgia.

Other places they have been featured ...

 The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.

The Louve in Paris, France.

 The NK Department Store in Stockholm, Sewden.

The Isetan Department Store in Tokyo, Japan.