In central Europe, Santa is not the cheery, chubby fellow that he is the US.  He has a bad side too.  The good and bad Santas may be incorporated into one person, but more commonly there is a good Santa and one or more bad companions.  The bad Santa may whip children, enslave them, or even eat them.  Santa comes on the 6^th of December, not the 25^th.  Toys on the 25^th are brought by the baby Jesus, the Christkind

    In Switzerland "Samichlaus" (aka "Sankt-Nikolaus") comes on the 6^th of December (in some locations on the 5^th).  If you were a good little boy or girl, he would dump on the floor fruits and nuts.  If you were generally good with some misbehavior, he would add a whip (made of broom) to the fruit and nuts.  If you were bad, no fruit and nuts, just the whip.  If you were very bad, he brought a bag, put you in it, and took you away to the forest, where you would serve as slave for him.  My Swiss wife, Silvia, told me that she feared him so much that she would hide from him.  She recalls a neighbor child who would scream bloody murder while anticipating Samichlaus.  One year Silvia's mother put the whip brought by Samichlaus onto a radiator, where it dried out and became brittle.  When her mother later used the whip on her, it just disintegrated upon use, which must have been very satisfying to little Silvia.  I asked her whether there is also a good Santa.  She said there was not, but acknowledged that in some parts of Switzerland the visit was made by a pair, Samichlaus (the good Santa) and Schmutzli (the bad Santa).  Of course, it is possible that Silvia saw only the bad Santa because her parents arranged for a visit by only the Bad Santa.

    The bad side of Samichlaus (Schmutzli) is, no doubt, a Swiss version of the Central European Bad Santa, known to Germans as Krampus (and many other names).  Here are some links with more information on the Germanic Bad Santa and other evil Christmas creatures:

• The History of Santa Claus -- a very good read.

Krampus and Related Critters

• American Dad
• Christmas Miracle -- Saturday Night Live
• Companions of Saint Nicholas
• Images -- some folks have gotten very creative with their depictions of Krampus.
• Knecht Ruprecht
• Krampus: Exploring the Legend of the Christmas Demon -- the history of Krampus
• Krampus Postcards
• Krampus Music -- interest in Krampus has grown a lot in the US in recent years.
• Samichlaus Beer
• Sankt Nikolaus und der Weihnachtsmann
• Samichlaus and Schmutzli
• Schmutzli, St. Nicholas Vigilante Style
• Seasons Greetings from Krampus
• Venture Brothers

Other Christmas Creatures

• Belsnickel -- Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas Critter
• Frau Perchta        Delirium
• Grýla and Leppalúði -- Icelandic Christmas Cannibals
• Hans Trapp --  In Alsace and Lorraine he give naughty children a beating
• Mari_Lwyd -- Welch Christmas Horse
• Père Fouettard -- French Christmas Cannibal
• The Jólasveinar -- Progeny of Grýla
• The Kallikantzari -- Nasty Greek Christmas Elves
• The seven most terrifying Christmas traditions around the world
• Yule Cat -- In Iceland, it is the Yule Cat that might dispatch you.

This page most recently revised on 6-December-2022.