I remember going to Catholic School in Indiana in the 1960s and the nuns telling us about St Nicholas' feast, December 6th, and the tradition of putting our shoes outside on the evening of the 5th, for him to fill. If you were good you'd get an orange and sweets but if you were bad, you'd only get sticks and coal in your shoe the next morning. We were always told St. Nick did all the work giving gifts or beatings depending on what he thought your behavior was the last year.
It
wasn’t until 2011 that I finally found out that there was a dark
doppelganger to Santa, not only that, but that there were several
variations on the same theme!
This
was entirely fascinating to me as I never knew that there was a whole
'nother polar opposite to Santa Claus [Sinterklaas]. Always before I
had been taught that Santa was the whole judge and jury on your yearly
behavior. Seeing them as two separate entities makes the idea or good
versus bad quite clearly defined. Not so much if you envision one being
with the ability to reward and to punish, which is much more like a
real super parent.
Unfortunately
this teaches children that if they're "good", they will be rewarded;
but if they were "bad" they would be punished. I'm not sure how the
folk-tale of Santa is related today but I am betting that the whole
punishment side is downplayed, certainly more so than when I believed in a
man bringing me presents every 25th of December.
In case you don’t know about the main tradition, it goes like this: As
in other countries, many people in the United States celebrate a
separate St Nicholas Day by putting their shoes outside their bedroom
doors on the evening of December 5th. St Nicholas then comes during the
night. On the morning of December 6th, those people will find their shoes
filled with gifts and sugary treats. Widespread adoption of the
tradition has spread among the German, Polish, Belgian and Dutch
communities throughout the United States.
I
started looking out for anything related to this tradition of the
henchmen of Santa and viola, I found this fantastic page from the From
Indiana German Heritage Society Newsletter: Vol. 18, No. 1, winter
2002-3
---BELSNICKEL---
 |
| http://www.mrshea.com/germusa/customs/belsnick.htm |
BELSNICKEL IN INDIANA
by Ruth Reichmann
Old-timers
in Indiana still remember Belsnickel, the "Pelznickel" (literally
"Fur-Nikolaus") of the Palatinate. [The Palatinate has a border
beginning in the north, on the Moselle River about 35 miles southwest of
Coblenz to Bingen and east to Mainz, down the Rhine River to Oppenheim,
Guntersblum and Worms, then continuing eastward above the Nieckar River
about 25 miles east of Heidelberg then looping back westerly below
Heidelberg to Speyer, south down the Rhine River to Alsace, then
north-westerly back up to its beginning on the Moselle River. ] From http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/palatines/palatine-history.shtml
Belsnickel's
name appears in many variations such as Bells Nickel, Belschnickle,
Belsniggles and Belsh Nickle, etc. When he arrived at their door, he
represented a nostalgic reminder to the adults of their childhood days,
however, the children viewed him with mixed feelings.
 |
| http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-santa-legends-from-around-the-world.php |
Known
to 19th-century children as a servant of Saint Nicholas, "der
Belsnickel" would carry a bunch of switches which were a threat to those
who had been bad, and he carried goodies of peanuts, cookies or candy
in a burlap bag or ample pockets, as he made his rounds to check on the
behavior of boys and girls.
He
would have a large book in which the names of the children and their
good or bad deeds were kept. Only good children were to receive treats.
If a child had been naughty he could also receive a lump of coal or a
stick as a reminder to behave in the future.
 |
| http://www.conjurecinema.com/2011/11/kac-2011-t-34.html |
Mary
Lou Golembeski in the Harmonie Herald, Old Economy, PA, tells us: "Not
only did the spellings vary but changes also occurred in his appearance
and his antics from one community to another." Belsnickel may wear a
long, black or brown coat or robe, held together at the waist with a
rope, and a fur cap or bear skin hat, decorated with bells. He may have a
band of Black Peters with blackened faces, or other rough characters
with him. They would be dressed in fantastic costumes, some trimmed with
fur, and move through the streets and from house to house, rattling
chains and bells.
 |
| http://www.yorkblog.com/yorktownsquare/2008/11/belsnickle-from-weekly.html |
The
bells would announce Belsnickel's approach and that of his retinue
before they would come into view. If the children were good, they
received some fruit or sweets, but if they were bad--or doubted the
"reality" of Belsnickel--they got a switch!
Dr.
Elmer Peters of Brookville, Franklin County testified to that:
"Belsnickel came--at times with Christkindl played by a gentle woman.
When some of the teenage boys denied the existence of Belsnickel, the
usually sturdy helper of St. Nikolaus grabbed the doubting Thomas and
gave him a good whipping with his stick--which was great entertainment
for the older folks." ("You Better Believe in Belsnickel!", in Eb.
Reichmann's Hoosier German Tales (1991), 80.
Read the entire article here: http://www.mrshea.com/germusa/customs/belsnick.htm
---ZWARTE PIET (BLACK PETE)---
Now
I do know a little bit about Zwarte Piet, a popular figure to folks in
the Netherlands since we visit there quite often and I have a Zwarte
Piet and Sinterklaas ornament. I find it quite interesting that
somewhere once these traditions met in the new USA they joined forces,
see above about how Belsnickle may have a retinue of Black Peters with
him in Indiana near the turn of the previous century.
 |
| http://mymerrychristmas.com/2006/blackpeter.shtml |
Black
Peter, or Zwarte Piet in Dutch, began in Holland in the 15th century.
His dark appearance is supposed to suggest a Spaniard, a reflection of
Spain's occupation of the Netherlands at the time. Black Peter was also
associated with pirates, a common threat to naughty Dutch children was
that he would take them to a pirate's hide out and beat them. He was
often represented holding a large stick for this purpose. The large bag
that he held was rumored to be used for stuffing children in for the
trip back to Spain. At the time "Black Peter" was a euphemism for the
devil, and it was thought that St. Nicholas, being a representative of
God, had beaten the devil and made him his servant. Thus it fell to
Black Peter to hand out the punishments, while St. Nicholas dealt with
the more pleasant sides of Christmas.
Although
where I lived, St. Nicholas worked alone, and he would mete out his own
judgements whether you’d been naughty or nice. I found an image that
illustrates Santa working alone on punishing the naughty child himself:
Ho
Ho Ho, huh? I understood the sticks, switches of course to beat you
with of course, but I always wondered why you’d get a lump of coal if
you were bad. Anyone know? Also apparently in some places he would
leave naughty kids potatoes, again, a practical gift especially if you
were hungry a potato would be a great gift.
I
found that today, people still are having their imaginations inspired
by these folk creatures, such as this interesting image I found:
 |
| http://doug-buddy.blogspot.com/2008/12/black-peter-or-krampus.html |
The first origin of Zwarte Piet can probably found by the god Wodan (often written as Odin). Riding the white horse Sleipnir he flew through the air and was the leader of the Wild Hunt. He was always accompanied by two black ravens, Huginn and Muninn.
Those helpers would listen, just like Zwarte Piet, at the chimney -
which was just a hole in the roof at that time - to tell Wodan about the
good and bad behaviours of the mortals.[2][3][4] During the Christianization, Pope Gregory I argued
that conversions were easier if people were allowed to retain the
outward forms of their traditions, while claiming that the traditions
were in honour of the Christian God. Saint Nicolas tradition is one of
them, converting Wodan to a Christian counterpart.[5]
There
seems to be quite a lot of bad boys who accompanied St. Nick, the more I
find reference to, the more I find. I realise now how essential a
polar opposite seemed to be in the St. Nick folklore. Just like Krampus
I knew nothing of these dark sidekicks until this year. It seems that
maybe all the bleaching of our European traditions has gone some to
eradicate these guys, but I ask you, should we really ignore them?
Should they really be forgotten?
Is there a need for these fiendish friends of Santa in our culture?
 |
| http://nathanmaxwellcann.info/2009/ |
A
DARK FIGURE hides behind the grinning countenance of Ole’ Saint Nick.
Sometimes he rides on a white horse, and sometimes he is accompanied by
fairies or men in blackface dressed as old women. Sometimes he is in
rags and a long black beard, and sometimes he is covered in fur with the
horns of a goat and a long red tongue. He is just one of the many
murderers and child molesters that make up Santa Claus’ posse.
Truth
is, Jolly Santa’s “companions” are a hodgepodge assortment of
rough-and-tumble characters; assorted fiends with sordid pasts and
nightmarish agendas. The companions travel with St. Nicholas or his
various equivalents (Father Christmas, Santa Claus), carrying with them a
rod (sometimes a stick, a mace, switchblade, sythe, revolver, a magic
top hat, rusty chains, a birch branch, bundle of switches or a whip, and
in modern times often a broom) and a sack.
They
are sometimes dressed in black rags, bearing a black face and unruly
black hair. In many contemporary portrayals the companions look like
dark, sinister, or rustic versions of Nicholas himself, with a similar
costume but with a darker color scheme.
--- PERE FOUETTARD---
 |
| http://www.secret-realite.net/index.php?mod=articles&ac=commentaires&id=811 |
The Père
Fouettard (French for The whipping Father) is a character who
accompanies St. Nicholas in his rounds during St. Nicholas' Day (6
December) dispensing lumps of coal and/or floggings to the naughty
children while St. Nick gives gifts to the well behaved.[1] He is known mainly in the Eastern regions of France, although similar characters exist all over Europe (see Companions of Saint Nicholas). This "Whipping Father" was said to bring a whip with him to spank all of the naughty kids who misbehaved.
 |
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A8re_Fouettard |
Père Fouettard is
found in France and Luxembourg, where he's known as Housécker. He is
the evil butcher who was forever condemned to follow St. Nicolas as a
punishment for luring the little lost children into his shop. His name
doesn't translate well, but means "Mr. Bogeyman," "spanking," or
"switches."
One
version of the story tells of a famine in the land and three young boys
who become lost while out searching the fields for food missed by the
harvest. In other versions the boys simply become lost while wandering
in the fields. As night begins to descend they spy a butcher's shop and
knock on the door seeking shelter for the night. The butcher opens the
door and invites them in.
 |
| http://www.dreamcreations.fr/pages/univers-fetes/traditions-et-legendes-de-noel/le-pere-fouettard.html |
But,
instead of giving them food and shelter for the night, the butcher
kills the boys and then hacks their bodies to pieces and throws the
pieces into a barrel of brine (salt water) along with a butchered pig
that he is preserving in the brine. His intention, of course, is to
increase his profit by including the boys' remains as part of the pork
he is selling.
Some
time later there is another knock at the door and when the butcher
opens the door he sees St. Nicholas standing in the doorway.
 |
| http://chuck.hubpages.com/hub/Father-Christmas-and-His-Assistant-Pere-Fouettard- |
St.
Nicholas makes his way to the barrel and tells the three boys to arise
and come to him. All three are immediately made whole and come to life.
Stepping out of the barrel, the boys spoke of being asleep and dreaming
of Heaven. Watching
from his position by the doorway, the butcher suddenly became
remorseful and repentant for what he had done. St. Nicholas assured him
that God forgave all sinners who repented regardless of the sin.
Feeling
both ashamed for what he had done and gratitude toward St. Nicholas for
undoing the damage resulting from his crime, the butcher chose to
follow St. Nicholas from the shop and has been at the saint's side
through the ages, not as the slave or servant of the saint but as a
loyal follower showing his gratitude by helping where he can.
[This is in French]
The
companion of the French St. Nicholas, Père Fouettard, is said to be the
butcher of three children. St. Nicholas discovered the murder and
resurrected the three children. He also shamed Père Fouettard, who, in
repentance, became a servant of St. Nicholas. Fouettard travels with the
saint and punishes naughty children by whipping them.
 |
| http://nathanmaxwellcann.info/2009/ |
---RUPRECHT ---
Ruprecht or Knecht Ruprecht is
St. Nicholas' most familiar attendant in Germany. He is a servant and
helper whose face is sooty from going down chimneys leaving children's
treats. He carries the sack of presents and a rod for disobedient
children. "Just wait until Ruprecht comes" is still a common threat in
German homes.
Originally a farm hand, Ruprecht is known as Hanstrapp or Rupelz in the French region of Alsace. In Germany there are many different characters: Krampus in Southern Germany, Pelzebock or Pelznickel in the North-West, Hans Muff in Rhineland, Bartel or the Wild Bear in Silesia, Gumphinkel with a bear in Hesse, Buttenmandl in Bavaria, or Black Pit close to the Dutch border. In the Palatinate both Nicholas and his attendant may be known as Stappklos, the plodder and grumbler.
 |
| http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-travels-with-st-nicholas/ |
According
to some legends, St. Nicholas had a servent. His name was Knecht
Ruprecht. When St. Nicholas and Ruprecht come to the door, the children
are asked to perform tricks, such as dancing or singing. Good children
will receive gifts from St. Nicholas. Bad children will be beaten by
Ruprecht. If they are really naughty, they will be carried off by him
in his sack. Parents would leave sticks to warn their children to be
good, and they would tell them that Ruprecht will take them away if they
are really bad.
 |
| http://lafenty.hubpages.com/hub/KrampusandKnechtRuprecht |
 |
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knecht_Ruprecht |
---KRAMPUS –-
 |
| http://zombie-popcorn.com/?p=5637 |
I
have never been a huge fan of the traditional Christmas story of Saint
Nicholas making toys for every good boys and girl in the world. True, I
love the fruits of his labor but I always felt something was missing.
Like we were only told half of the story. Today, I found out we were
only told half of the story. Did you ever wonder what happened to the
bad children and come to think of it what about the bad adults? Have
you ever heard of Krampus?
 |
| http://sabrebiade.hubpages.com/hub/The-Krampus-You-Better-Watch-Out |
December 6th, was Krampusnacht, a holiday celebrated in Alpine regions of Germany and Austria.
The
festival’s roots stretch back into pre-Christian times when Germanic
mountain folk paid homage to Krampus the child-stealing demon of winter
darkness. Krampus was a hell-sent god with goat’s horns, coarse black
fur, and a fanged maw. He would visit disobedient or inattentive
children and beat them with a cruel flail before tearing them to bits
with his claws (in fact “Krampus” means “claw” in old high German).
The demon would then carry the dismembered bodies back to the underworld and devour the human flesh at his leisure.
In Austria the feast of St. Nicolas brings together all sorts of characters that appear to come from hell. Santaklos (Nikolo, or Niglo Klos) through the streets, accompanied by "Krampus". The Krampus masks are of the devil and a big fur coat. Saint Nicolas asked the children whether they know their prayers and distributes nuts, apples, oranges and even gifts. In other places, is accompanied by Santaklos characters covered with straw, with long antennae, "the Schab." They perform the "Nikolospiele" Games of Saint Nicolas
--- DUENDE---
Not only does Santa have his dark cronies but the cronies in some places have their own servants, the Duende.
A
“duende” is a gnome or goblin that lives under the stairs. The
“duende” according to myth appears because of an evocation given by
someone nearby. It is physical entity that allegedly manifests because
of emotional stress. The duende is a demonic earth spirit much like
the earth spirits of the dark nights like Krampus and Belsnickel.
Those who see a “duende” are soon to have a death in the family.
It
is also believed the “duende” can hide in your shoes and enter your
body through the soles of your feet. It is interesting that the gnomes
of European Christmas lore would have some fascination with shoes and
stockings. For years the gnomes were believed to be sniffing around
chimneys where children would dry their stockings.
There
have been countless times in everybody’s day to day experience where
they would lose a sock or even underwear in the dryer. People joking
say that it is the work of the “sock gnomes.” Everyone may joke about
it, however it seems as though the mystery dates back some 400 years
ago on those dark nights by the fire at Christmas time.
A duende is a fairy- or goblin-like mythological creature from Iberian, Latin American and Filipino folklore. While its nature varies throughout Spain, Portugal, Spanish and Portuguese-speaking America and the Philippines
--- SCHMUTZLI---
Just
like Venom to Spiderman, Dr. Moriarty to Sherlock Holmes and Magneto
to Dr. Xavier, Schmutzli is a more sinister counter point to the good
that Santa represents.
The
answer to how this tradition came about is once again representative of
another classic battle between Christianity and paganism. Originally
it was a pagan ritual called Perchten which
involved good spirits driving out the bad old spirits. With
Samichlaus taking the Christian "good" role Schmutzli some how managed
to evolve into the dark figure.
Samichlaus is not Santa Claus however and the celebration of "St Nicolas Day"is on the 6th of December, while both Christmas and St Nicolas Day both have the same origins they take on different forms, with the latter having much more in common with its original tradition of paganism than its commercialised American brother.
Schmutzli
is nearly always all brown: dressed in brown, with brown hair and
beard, and a face darkened with lard and soot. He is St. Nicholas'
helper in Switzerland. He carries a switch and sack, but no longer
uses them. Children used to be told that Schmutzli would beat naughty
children with the switch and carry them off in the sack to gobble them
up in the woods. Today there is very little talk of beatings and
kidnappings.
Perchten are in the Alpine tradition occurring forms, which occur mainly in December and January. Your name probably derives from the mythical figure of Perchta from. Another theory on naming assumes that the concept of Epiphany , Epiphany on 6 January is derived.
The Perchten embody two general groups, the "good" Schönperchten, and the "bad" Schiechperchten ( . obdt Schieche,
schiach extremely stressed at i: ugly, bad, evil). Perchten
important tool of the bell, after the popular interpretation of the
winter - or the evil spirits of winter - is to be expelled ( out the winter ,
or expulsion of the old year). The visit of Perchten is sometimes
held up in the vernacular as auspicious omen. The extent to which
Perchtenlauf really goes back to pagan rites, is controversial.
---PERCHTENTANZ---
Before the last Raunacht the Magi to Schiachperchten and Schönperchten exorcise the horrors of the winter. With
drumbeats, fog and stake demonstrates the Perchten an impressive
spectacle, which causes the viewer alternately creepy and fascinating.
| ||||||||||||||
--- NACKLES---
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