Scary Santa

My grandmother Anna was born in Germany in 1903 and my grandfather Herman in 1900. This means our great-grandparents lived during the Victorian era, 1837-1901. And if that doesn't make a person feel old, nothing will.

Anna was sweet to us and we called her "Dutzie." My grandfather Herman looked strict so we were in awe of him, although I don't ever remember hearing a harsh word. In those days, a stern glance was all it usually took to make kids behave. But back when Anna and Herman grew up, their 19th century parents used tried-and-true methods like fear and guilt, including scary traditions at Christmas-- namely the German St. Nicholas. He carried a switch, and if you weren't good, guess what you got instead of a toy and an orange in your stocking?

When I was young, the highlight of the year was Christmas Eve at my grandparent's Pennsylvania farm. There was a little tree up on a table decorated with lights, lead tinsel and some ornaments Dutzie had brought over from Germany. It would look simple in our excessive modern world, but back then it was pure magic. She liked to tell us about the German St. Nicholas to make us appreciate just how good kids had it in the 1950's.

This is how I imagined her sinister "Santa." But there was worse. In many European traditions, Father Christmas had companions who accompanied him on his rounds. In Austria and Bavaria, St. Nicholas left the task of punishing bad children to Krampus, a classic devil with horns and a monstrous tongue. He swats naughty children with switches before dragging them to a fiery place below.

Naughty or nice, the choice is yours...

Grabbed by the ears...

Stuffed in a basket...

Ow!

And off you march in a long line of bad children...

There were plenty of horrific images to scare kids into behaving before Christmas, and the idea of a kindly Santa is a modern invention. More on that later...