The St. Nicholas mythology (together with its antecedents and progeny) also has
a ‘dark’ side. I was familiar with Knecht Rupert and Zwarte Piet, and yesterday
just learned of the particularly devilish Austrian Krampus — but the various
international figures associated with St. Nicholas (and his Doppelgänger)
appear to be virtually (dare I say it?) legion.
According to Wikipedia, “these characters act as a foil to the benevolent
Christmas gift-bringer, threatening to thrash or abduct disobedient children.”
A closer look at the figures shows such characterization to be over-simplistic.
Some of the characters seem to combine the benevolent and malevolent aspects of
the St- Nicholas mythology in one creature (Belsnickel, et al.), while others
seem comparatively benign companions or helpers. The Alemannische version of
Wikipedia divides the companions into human, devilish and animal characters (as
well as mentioning angels).
For an introduction, see the English-language Wikipedia entry — and proceed
from there:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Companions_of_Saint_Nicholas
Chris Bruce,
wishing no-one a stick or lump of coal,
but cautioning certain recently-elected
politicians to mend their behaviour, in
Kiel, Germany
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