Keep Your Elf on the Shelf, Krampus is Coming Tonight

It's that time of year again when your social media feed is full of parents having to move those stupid Elf on the Shelf's all around their house in an attempt make sure their kids are behaving before the jolly one comes.

Well not in my house!

We apparently like to keep things traditional, so we're teaching our kids about Krampus or the Christmas Devil. Tonight is his night too.

According to folklore, Krampus is a half-man, half-demon with large horns, dark hair, fangs, and carries a bundle of birch sticks that are meant to be swatted at naughty children.

Krampus is the anti-St. Nicholas and he comes to drag naughty children back with him to his lair in hell on the night of December 5th. It is known as Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night.

Folklore also states that if children were to have gone missing during Christmas time they were drug to Krampus' lair after being placed in his sack, where they were to be either beaten with birch sticks or tortured. It is also said that they could've been eaten by him too.

Krampus needs to have a ying to his yang and that's where St. Nicholas comes in.

After Krampus comes on the night of December 5th, the following day December 6th, St. Nicholas comes to treat the good children to candy and treats in their shoes that they have left out the night before. The naughty kids were lefts rods in their shoes, that is if they weren't taken away by Krampus.

This day is called the Feast of Saint Nicholas, St. Nicholas Day, or Nikolaustag.

So will you be bringing Krampus back in your home or stick with the Elf?