December Shows Its Teeth

KRAMPUSLAUF

They come with bells and birch switches, these half-goat figures of December. Horned and furred, they turn participants into something older than the religion that tried to tame them. The beast that drags the wicked to the underworld is the same one parents once used to keep children in line.

Krampuslauf is a traditional parade where people wear hand-carved masks, heavy fur, and towering horns. They move in packs, shaking bells, cracking switches, and carrying on the same wild behavior that once sent children running for cover. They chase and taunt spectators in the spirit of the old warnings, while Saint Nicholas walks at the front as the official guide.

The creatures behind him carry the real authority, a reminder that in December devils get better gifts.