Krampus Role Of Christmas In The US

When people think of Christmas the first thing one may think of is, Santa Claus or St. Nick. Santa is the person that brings joy and present during the night, but only for the good children. What about the bad children? In present time toady, the story is that naughty children get a lump of coal, while the good children get presents. But will getting a lump of coal really change naughty children into nice? Introducing bad Santa, Krampus! Who is portrayed as a half-goat, half-demon, horrific beast who beats people into being nice not naughty. Krampus also comes with a chain and bells that he lashes about, a barrel on his back to drag children into his lair, along with a bundle of birch sticks meant to swat naught children. Even though he is …show more content…
While St. Nick’s job was to show that nice children get rewards. Krampus’ role was to warn children that being naughty have consequences. This legend could also be seen as a Heaven and Hell motif, while the good people get rewards (Heaven); bad people get taken away by Krampus (Hell). Which this means that it is preparing children for adulthood, where their actions will affect where they will reside after their death. The way Krampus is designed; he was made to represent the devil. Having horns, hooved feet, long tongue, beastly look—classic devil design. While his counterpart, St. Nicholas looks “heavenly” in his white bishop garb. Also Krampus can take on different forms, like his sinister gentlemanly form fro example. Which also makes him devil-like, because the devil can change forms as well. Likewise it can be taken as a monster or beast hiding underneath the human skin. Showing how people can be monsters underneath their pretty faces. So basically, Krampus is there to warn/threaten us that if you are naughty, well you get to hang out with Krampus for a very long time. He prepares us (children) for the future, where in adulthood bad actions and choices could cause major consequences in you