In the United States, parents tell their children that Santa will give them coal for Christmas if they misbehave. Alpine countries, on the other hand, tell their kids that a demon named Krampus will whisk them away to drown them, eat them, or drag them to Hell.
God bless America.
In preparation for the traditional festival held in the Austrian village of Virgen, local officials are working very hard to make it clear to incoming Syrians and Iraqis that the parades of people running through the streets in disturbing demon costumes aren’t actually child-murdering monsters.
Kurt Glaenzer, the head of a Krampus club, said: "In the first week of December, the good, gift-bringing St. Nicholas wanders through the streets with his evil, horned companion called Krampus.”
But it isn’t just as simple as that. Gleaner said partipants get really into it, wrestling people to the ground and whipping them with sticks.
"When the Krampus roams the town, he often wrestles people to the ground, symbolizing the abduction of bad children.”
In total contrast, the next event planned for the migrant families is a festival of traditional cookie baking.
Here’s what one of the parades looks like in Graz, Austria’s second largest city: