German CHRISTMAS CULTURE SHOCK! 🇩🇪🎄👹 Knecht Ruprecht + Krampus + Our FIRST Krampuslauf!

Рет қаралды 26,990

Күн бұрын

Before moving to Germany, we never knew that St. Nikolaus had evil sidekicks or helpers. 😳🤯 This is a huge culture shock for Americans! For us, Santa is all jolly, and cute and cuddly, even with his naughty list. Then we move here and start to learn about Krampus and Knecht Ruprecht, and then learn these scary helpers are ALL over Europe! And then we found ourselves at our first Krampuslauf...and 😳. Wow...well, it was other wordly! In this video, you'll see footage from our first Krampuslauf and hear what our kids thought of it, and you'll learn the Celtic origins of these scary creatures, we share about Knecht Ruprecht, and share comments from some of YOU on your experiences with both of these fun guys. #germanculture #weihnachten #weihnachtsspecial #krampus #knechtruprecht
//VIDEOS MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO//
Dark German Legends - Krampus, Brüder Grimm and Frankenstein! • The FRANKENSTEIN Famil...
German Christmas Cookies - First Time Making Plätzchen! Vanille Kipferl, Zimtsterne, and Linzer Plätzchen - • First Time Making Vani...
//JUMP TO THE PART YOU WANT//
0:00 - Silly Intro :)
03:19 - The Celtic Origins of the Devils of Christmas
09:02 - All About Krampus
11:35 - Our First Crazy Experience at a Krampuslauf
19:03 - What Our Kids Say about the Krampuslauf
26:30 - All About Knecht Ruprecht
28:38 - Comments from Our German Subs on Knecht Ruprecht & Krampus
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Пікірлер: 496

@tristanpirker8027 Жыл бұрын

It was 1998 when I was 26 years old for the last time as a Krampus on the road in my hometown of Knittelfeld, Styria, Austria. At that time there were no barriers or numbers for Krampuse, everything was still much wilder and scarier than today in special ones for children. I still remember when suddenly a five-year-old boy stood in front of me and began to recite a poem, the approximate meaning of which was that he was good and kind and he didn't deserve to be picked up by the Krampus. I was so impressed by the brave little guy that I gave him 2 euros in today's currency (I didn't have any candy with me). I will never forget the smile and light in the little guy's eyes as he proudly presented the gift he received from the Krampus! got because he was so good.

@marlene.k2620 Жыл бұрын

When I grew up in the 90‘s, in Austria, there were no fences, or gates or whatever. So the Krampus used to chase us. This was even another level of scary 😂 they also used to take our parents with them and brought them to „hell“ (kind of a bar they built), where they had to drink something. Which was also scary, for me, as a little kid, not knowing, where they took them, and what they did there 😅

@CavHDeu Жыл бұрын

Ihr müsst auch immer noch ne Schippe drauf legen in Österreich 😁 hatten hier in den 80ern nur Knecht Ruprecht 🥱 Grüße vom Niederrhein

@Due152 Жыл бұрын

@@CavHDeu Ja, aber als Norddeutscher musste ich erfahren, dass von Holland der Schwarte Piet als Compagnon des Nikolaus kommt. In Uerdingen landeten sie am Rhein per Schiff vor ein paar Jahren, ein Nikolausi und mindestens 50 Schwarte Pieten. Der helle Wahnsinn! 😅

@KaySan666 Жыл бұрын

it might just be a local desicion to put up gates, because here in munich you see them (at least the last time i managed to get to a Krampus Run 3 years ago) running around without fences as well.

@bernhardkranabetter1215 Жыл бұрын

We still don't have fences in our village in Salzburg Umgebung, as kids we even provoked them to chase us and it was all good and fun, sometimes they cought you sometimes not :) to be honest you will have the best experience at a perchten/krampuslauf without fences and stay until the end to the wildlauf (wild run) at that point they come from everywhere and don't have to stay on their walking route.

@pia8030 Жыл бұрын

I love this Tradition, its always so fun especially bc u carry those little parts of the scene as memories to the next year. Im from Slovenia 🇸🇮 and since I can remember 05.12. is the day im always excited for bc its a childhood too me. Now we do this kinda differently. FIRST "parklji" or hell arrives, to scare children and some they put into their car that has red let light in it, its very fun, they are running around with chaines around them, dressed in black between people picking up kids who weren't good this year and punishing them by putting them into their truck, its a lot of fun AND than St. Nick or "Miklavž" arrives in a very good looking car decorated with bright lights and he comes with Angels or "Angeli" = so he represents the light, he gives candy to children and speaks to each child seperatly in our street. Its my childhood and its always fun to attempt it😊

@Yamaazarashi Жыл бұрын

Hi, I'm from Tokyo and am living in Munich for more than 25 years. I am enjoying your videos very much! When I saw Krampus at first time I immediately thought about Japanese Krampus "Namahage" in Akita prefecture in north east of Japanese main island. I am enjoying your lovely videos to learn many differences between US an Germany. Normally I identify them exactly as the differences between Japan and Germany. However, Kramps is a rare exception which I find a similarity with Germany/Austria and Japan. Namahages are visiting around families with small children and scaring them either, and mostly in drunken condition by means of sake served by each visited family! Thanks for your very impressive videos!!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Wow that’s so fascinating to learn there is a similar figure in Japanese culture! We will have to look him up. And something we’ve maybe never shared before on the channel is that Kevin lived in Japan for 6 months while in college!

@isana788 Жыл бұрын

i love the Namahage!!!! I have seen them in the german documentation "japan, ein Wintermärchen". Beautyful!

@Yamaazarashi Жыл бұрын

@@isana788 Danke für Ihren Hiweis! Ich werde die Sendung anschauen. Zum Glück ist sie in KZfaq 😃!

@westfale520 Жыл бұрын

@@Yamaazarashi japan würde ich sowiso mal gern besuchen. ebenfalls eine kultur mit einer sehr langen geschichte. besonders das japanische land ausserhalb der grossen städten mag ich sehr aus den dokomentationen,

@Yamaazarashi Жыл бұрын

@@westfale520 Ja, genau! Es gibt so viele kleine aber hisotrische Städten mit wunderschöner Natur überall in Japan. Leider habe ich zu wenig gereist als ich noch in Japan gelbt habe, schalde. Ich freue mich auf die Reise nach Japan als ein Rentner-Turi! 😁

@MaskedBishop Жыл бұрын

I'm from Northrhine-Westphalia in the West, and never heard about Krampus until my late 20s, when I watched the American movie "Krampus" a few years ago. Here we only have Knecht Ruprecht.

@IxionDLF Жыл бұрын

My mom is from a suburb of Salzburg. Born in growing up in the 50s and 60s, the Krampus were allowed to roam free. Kids back than, especially girls, were pretty much traumatized by Krampusse. They would whip all sense out of the ones the could catch. Often boys who were rejected by girls took their "revenge" (I would call it blatant frustration) on them. It went so far that people would not leave the houses out of fear of running into a krampus. In the 90s freeroaming got more and more restricted to now only certain areas and you can't blame anyone but yourself if you decide to go to one of the freeroaming areas and get whooped the crazy out of you. I've always admired the work that goes into making the wooden Krampus masks and the fur costumes. One of my absolute favorite alpine traditions

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

I mean, I don't know how else to think of this other than that it's really horrible!! Chasing down young girls and whipping the sense out of them? Without the Krampus costume, that would be considered a major crime and they'd be send off to jail. I'm so glad it's better now, but even in the 60's it shouldn't have been happening. Other people have commented here that women have been raped at these things (it also happens at Oktoberfest). WHAT?! It sounds like a huge display of grotesque misogny - where men are allowed to get away with being criminals for a night. I really don't understand...I'm with you on the costumes, though. They are incredible and truly works of art.

@elmarwinkler6335 Жыл бұрын

Bishop Nikolaus took a walk though his community, when he passed a open window. He heard 3 young sisters debating, what they could sell, to have money for food and other stuff, the were in dire need. Nikolaus hurried home, took some coins and hurried back to the window. It was washing day and some clothing were hanging outside the home of the sisters, including stockings. As Nikolaus didn´t want them to know who had helped them, he put a few coins in the stockings and the next day the rumor mill told of Gods wonder for the sisters. Yes this is a real story I fot from "Sendung mit der Maus". Now you know where the custom of the stockings came from😊😁😇 You are a great plus for educating us Germans about our own history. Elmar. THANK YOU.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Ah very cool! Is this also from the true story of St. Nikolaus?

@elmarwinkler6335 Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife If you know the German TV-show "Sendung mit der Maus" and the TV Quiz Show, is about real facts. They do it for kids, old and young😁. So we can all learn a lttle bit more. I am a history nerd of some kind. In this Quiz show they told this story about the stockings. As these gentleman research very carefully, I have to say YES, ITS a TRUE STORY. I admire you and your family and the video about Europa Park was so much Fun. I sincerely recommend, Bell Rock for Dinner. I did my 60th birthday there, we had to escape the well-wishers and condolences. Shortly before my birthday my Dad passed peacefully away after a long fight. Bell Rock also has a treasure hunt for kids guided by pirates (in reality well trained specialists for kids) parent can come along. If you want to have a hour for yourself and your younger kids thoroughly entertained, that is a possibility. You and the fam stay safe, sound and happy. God bless you, Elmar from Stuttgart.

@Baccatube79 Жыл бұрын

Actually, the three girls were about to be sold into slavery (i.e. prostitution) because their father could not afford a dowery. The bishop could not allow such practices in his parson but also would not humiliate the father - which is why he did what we did.

@elmarwinkler6335 Жыл бұрын

@@Baccatube79 Hey THANK YOU very much for the info. Merry Christmas and a peaceful new year.

@flowerdolphin5648 Жыл бұрын

Oh wow, I guess this legend can take wildly different shapes depending on where you are. I just sang a cantata by Benjamin Britten about Saint Nicolas and in there, this exact legend is hinted at like this: "three daughters of a nobleman were doomed to shameful sin, till our good Nicolas had ransomed them by throwing purses in". So basically, the full story they tell in England is essentially this: There was this nobleman who couldn't pay the dowry for his three daughters, so he asked Saint Nicolas to throw in money through the window at night, so that his daughters may be saved from the cruel fate of having to become prostitutes.

@trueamnisias Жыл бұрын

As a rule, children love scary things in a safe context - Grimm's Folk Tales, Hoffmann's Stories, Krampuslauf and Hunted House are all good examples of this, and your kids seem no exeption to this. And it is healthy, too, as it gives them (and parents) opportunity to discuss scary stuff, like death (Grimm's folk tales is full of orphant children and evil step mums) and how to deal with it.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Yeah that’s true!

@EvaCornelia Жыл бұрын

This makes a lot of sense. I was a scared kid, unseen, and nobody ever talked to me about how I was feeling. So I hated everything scary, like Grimm's Tales would give me nightmares all over, and even today I skipped the Krampuslauf part of the video because I did not want to see these masks. So this was a revelation to me - kids can handle it in a safe environment. Without that environment those fears can stay with you all your life.

@soix4444 Жыл бұрын

I‘m from Austria and what you showed in the Video were „Perchten“ not Krampus. In my area in Austria we make a difference. Perchten nearly don‘t hurt, and have this expensive, great masks. They make a really big show. Krampus is mostly with Gummi-masks you can buy on several Stores and everybody can wear these. In „krampusumzug“ they run and hit- and there is no barriere between them and the people. Its sometimes really brutal. I like your Videos- thank you for that ☺️

@fairgreen42 Жыл бұрын

I am here to say the same. The artful huge scary costumes are usually Perchten, spirits to chase away winter. They don't hurt people, but are awe inspiring to watch. Krampuslauf used to be mostly cheap homemade costumes and they hit spectators with rods. I always wore thick trousers and a long coat to protect butt and legs. Those kind of Krampusläufe are not so common now I believe.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

OkH that’s good to know! I had read about the Perchten but wasn’t quite sure what they were. In the Krampuslauf we attended, the Perchten were hitting people with the brooms.

@soix4444 Жыл бұрын

Yes, the Perchten hit „a little bit“ but it is not compareable with the krampus. At the krampusläufe in our area is the hitting really brutal. When I was a child there were years they were forbidden because of too many too hurt people. But I‘m from a little rural area from Austria…maybe that makes a difference too.

@fairgreen42 Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife I just found a 12 minute Easy German episode about the Krampus and Perchten tradition in Austria here on KZfaq. This Austrian Tradition is Horrifying/ Easy German 480. It's very neat.🙂 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/jsmooMWf17qncWQ.html

@julyunicorn5177 Жыл бұрын

Ich kenn es anders, perchten sind die neumodischen verkleidungen mit led und grausigem aussehen und der krampus sind die alten brauchtumsmasken etc

@AutomanicJack Жыл бұрын

in Carinthia (Austria) in the 80s, the Krampen just roamed through the streets how they wanted for hours and you never knew where they were. so we, a group of kids, armed ourselves with firecrackers, snowballs and other creative stuff to be prepared and searched the streets. and when we found a group of krampus then we threw our stuff at them and ran away and when they caught someone of us they pushed them in the snow on the side of the street and gave a good snowrub and you got smacked with the branchwhips (Ruten). it was scary but so much fun at the same time, we loved it as kids.

@shereerichmond4833 3 ай бұрын

I love it

@monikarauch301 Жыл бұрын

I'm Austrian. My experience with the Krampus was that he was around before St.Nicolas came. Krampus was scary (even if we knew always that it was a dressed up person) but me and my brother had also fun looking out for this creature... then when he came across us we ran away...we laughed..it was kind of scary and exiting ant the same time.... we were hoping that St.Nikolas comes to free us from this Krampus. When Saint Nikolas came the Krampus had no power any more. And than we got our goodies from Saint Nik(nuts, oranges, a St.Nikolaus Chocolate and a Krampus Chocolate). It was one of our favorite feasts of the year. By the way, I have never been to a Krampuslauf even it the place I live has a very famous one. But I knew it was very wild and scary and they could hurt you. I only went to the organized party for Kids or elderly people were there was one or two Krampuses. Those hit me too sometimes, even when I was a little kid, but everyone knew they would hit a little bit if you are nearby. We kind of played with them "try to get me if you can, and ran away, screamed and laughed at the same time."

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your experience - it helps us all to understand a little bit more!

@MaXMustermann-fw2vo Жыл бұрын

In the regions where the Krampus is a tradition, I am surprised that the neighbours/friends have not pointed out that the Krampus run is rough and that it is actually not for children. My uncle, who also ran as a Krampus when he was young, made that quite clear.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

I’m not sure our friends realized how rough it can get - they didn’t grow up with Krampusläufe themselves. But there were a lot of kids there. Yeah I won’t take the kids back unless they really want to go back.

@tubekulose Жыл бұрын

Yes! When I was a kid I almost prefered Krampus to Saint Nicholas himself. I've always been into spooky and scary creatures and enjoyed every 5th evening of december. 😁👍 Best regards from Vienna!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

I’ve always liked the scary part of Halloween, so I can understand that.

@westfale520 Жыл бұрын

( LAUGH ) When I, as a little boy, noticed that my grandmother had dressed up as a servant Rubrecht, it was over with the fear. 😄 It looked a bit different with the Krampus! During a skiing holiday in the Alps, a Krampus followed me through the whole village and always gave me light blows with a small brush on the buttocks.Sat I was 25 There were just no barriers like on the Vidio. Later it turned out that it was the policewoman who gave me 2 days before had stopped with the car, because I drove too fast through the village and had therefore warned me that if she sees me again it would not stay with a warning 😄

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

What a funny story! You had a real encounter with Krampus.

@ThePixel1983 Жыл бұрын

You went on her naught list just in time 😂

@westfale520 Жыл бұрын

The worst thing about such a situation is that you can not rely on the help of your friends, who also cheer on the Krampus and reveal where you are hiding. 😂

@lindaraterink6451 Жыл бұрын

this made me laugh so hard thank you for this!

@annstieler3893 Жыл бұрын

I've never heard of Krampus,although living over 40years in Germany-in Rheinland-Palatinate-here Nikolaus is accompanied by the "BEELZE BUB" Not quite so scary as Krampus, But also respected by the kiddies... That Krampus Run reminds me more of Fastnacht in the Black Forest Region... I love Germany for its multiple of traditions all over..

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

It's amazing how diverse Germany is!

@daniela3444 Жыл бұрын

As a kid in Bavaria in the 80s when you saw a Nikolaus in town there was always a Krampus by his side and I was always sooo scared of both. And I always imagined Krampus at our front door when it was dark already and my parents told me to take out the garbage... and then the Perchten 😱 . Ich wünsche Euch Frohe Weihnachten! Danke, dass Ihr Eure Geschichten mit uns teilt!

@conniebruckner8190 Жыл бұрын

Fun to see this AND also you quoting my post regarding my frightful encounter with the naughty Krampus boys way back when. 😄☺

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Haha yes! That was your comment! It was a good one.

@dietmarlucas7279 Жыл бұрын

My wife and I are 59 and 64 years old germans and watching your video, we heard about Krampus the first time. We both lived our entire life in Saarland, this tiny little State at the French/Luxemburg border. In our region Knecht Ruprecht ist the companion of St. Nikolaus; he is not an evil person, simply the assistant of St. Nikolaus. Perhaps a little bit grumpy, he carries the bag with the gifts for children. I you misbehaved in the past, he gave you a little brushwood bundle with your present, just as a warnig to behave better in the future. By the way, "Knecht" simply is an old german word for "Servant" (or a person who works on a farm) and "Ruprecht" is his name; it means "Ruprecht, the servant". By the way, for us St. Nikolaus and Knecht Ruprecht are no christmas figures; they appear on their own day, the "St. Nikolaus - Tag" the 5. of December. St. Nikolaus was a Bishop at the old turkish city of Myra, were he gave gifts to people in need, especially to children. He is also the patron saint of the seamen. I hope my english is not too bad and as a subscriber I can`t wait for your next video.

@Robinson160277 Жыл бұрын

I know some boys, puting their costumes in the goatstable for the complett year, so they smile in the right way...

@evastrange Жыл бұрын

I'm from the Knecht Ruprecht part of Germany, but am living in Munich at the moment and was excited to go watch my first Krampuslauf today. It reminded me a lot of the traditional carnival celebrations in the Black Forest. (Carnival is yet another occasion on which we drive out evil spirits, or winter, or the evil that is winter.) It was relatively tame, but they beat people here as well. There was one young boy on the opposite side of the street from where I was standing, who drew the Krampuses to him with his bright jacket, and his father got beaten up every couple of minutes. 😅 And there is no barrier here and Krampuses leave the parade and run wild all the time. It was all good fun, though.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Oh wow, there were no barriers there?! Yikes! I was told the Dorfer Krampusläufe are much more wild that the city ones.

@p.f.5718 Жыл бұрын

There is a secret if you want to avoid to get hurt - you have to get thicker trousers - ski trousers by example. But you’re right I hate it when the Krampusse are drunken. I don’t know if the Perchten are also so drunken - on the countryside when the Perchten go from house to house and go in there I think they have another behavior because they know each other very well. By the way the very expensive Masks are handcrafted out of wood and there are special woodcarver and the bells are often very heavy till to 50 kg. So it’s not easy special for the Perchten to go from house to house in the mountains.😂 Love from Austria 🇦🇹

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

The costumes and masks really are impressive. It's clear that a lot of time and money are spent on them! They're truly works of art. Wearing ski trousers is a great idea - I wish we would've thought of that!

@Mister__Jey Жыл бұрын

As someone who grew up and has always lived in West Germany, I never heard of Krampus until I saw it myself on the internet. However, I think many children know that from their childhood, and there are also games for it. So Krampus is Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, maybe Rhineland-Palatinate in the south of Germany, but definitely not in the north, west or east, there's only good old Knecht Ruprecht there.

@seidnettzueinander9122 Жыл бұрын

You see the difference there between areas the celts settled and where they didn't...

@rockyusa2012 Жыл бұрын

Good info video. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and happy new year.

@idnwiw Жыл бұрын

From what I have heard of people growing up in alpine villages, your family has experienced an already quite "domisticated" form of Krampus runs. The numbers you saw on the Krampuse act as a "licence plate" so that you can report an individual Krampus who went overboard.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Yeah learning that the numbers are there so we can report a bad one…wow, just not even sure what to think of it anymore!

@bernhardschiller4329 Жыл бұрын

I'm from Baden-Württemberg. There are no Krampus runs I can remember. But when I was in Kindergarten in a small village in the 1970th I remember St. Nicklaus came with two Knecht Rubrechts. One of the boys didn't got candies from St Nicklaus but got spanked by the Knecht Rubrechts in front of St. Nicklaus and all of us kids, because of his behaviour over the year. This is a very strong memory.

@kellydun465 Жыл бұрын

Thanks for making this video- just got back from Tyrol and Bavaria and heard about this for the first time! Great to hear about the background on this tradition in your video.

@annie_on_the_moon8723 Жыл бұрын

What an interesting video! I didn't know all these details about Krampus, and I am German. When I was a child, Knecht Ruprecht was a thing in my region, which was northwestern Germany. Thank you! I think your videos are getting better and better.

@sisuguillam5109 Жыл бұрын

Well said: kids learning and having to learn is something we should always keep in mind.

@EarMaster55 Жыл бұрын

You should try to visit a procession of the Swabian-Alemannic Fastnacht. It can be a very similar experience…

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Yeah, it sounds like we need to attend one sometime!

@hildegardkhelfa5358 Жыл бұрын

You know, you are just awesome, Great acting, great storytelling, great humour plus very entertaining video. Loved it!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Hi Hildegard! Thank you so much! Did you see I used one of your comments at the end of the video? :)

@hildegardkhelfa5358 Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife yes, I saw it - I feel honoured (yet, I should maybe shorten my comments to not talk your ears off as much ;-) )

@1Naenie1 6 ай бұрын

This is just bavaria austria and it feels very strange to me as it feels to you 😂 In other parts we have "Knecht Ruprecht" He is St Nicks helping hand. Helps with carrieng the presents but also has a "Rute" to punish the bad kids with. (Since people dressing as Knecht Ruprecht are most likely friends of the family, you would rather see Ruprecht chasing the father through the house instead of the kids. All in good fun) Since St Nick is a noble, Ruprecht is just his servant and servants were imagined as dirty, poor and grumpy.

@horabeles Жыл бұрын

😂 it's like Walt Disney. You take an orange, squeeze out the juice, but without the flesh or seeds, put endless amounts of sugar and water in it and bubble bubbles and call it Fanta, Grimm's Fairy Tales or Christmas. My mother always said that orange marmalade not only contains sugar and juice, but also pulp, a pinch of salt and zest, because life can also be bitter.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Very interesting analogy!

@feothyr6810 Жыл бұрын

Loved the video :) Thank you!

@Danny30011980 Жыл бұрын

Very diplomatic and very wise - we are all good and bad! Great statement made! I'm really enjoying your videos and to see how you experience/perceive life in Germany. Have a nice Wednesday and enjoy your Christmas. From a German in Ireland :-)

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Thank you! And so cool you live in Ireland! Americans have a slight obsession with 🇮🇪😍. What is it like there for you?

@monica-NJ-123 Жыл бұрын

I’m from the northern part of Germany and I’m not familiar with this dark side lol , I only learnt about this a few years back and I’m glad I missed it growing up 😅

@geraldherrmann787 Жыл бұрын

being from salzburg (city and country as well) i grew up with krampus eversince the 60ies. i loved it and still do. we kids were wsiting for it for months. two candyparties in two days, 5th and 6th of december. it is interesting how different such things seem to somebody who hasn‘t grown up with it. i would always let kids „enjoy“ krampusläufe. but i would NEVER EVER let kids wander around and collect chocolate. for me, halloween looks great but is much more terrifying than krampus on a reality level.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

That’s so interesting! I’m glad to hear from those who grew up with Krampus and what it’s like for you. Thanks for sharing.

@anettewaits3677 Жыл бұрын

…I’am from Hessen and we had Knecht Ruprecht when I grew up - I was never touched or hit just threatened - in America you have “splash zones” in amusement parks - you are doing a very good job with your videos they are very entertaining, educational and fun to watch - I always look forward to them - Merry Christmas and a happy new year 💚

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Thank you! And a Frohe Weihnachtszeit to you!

@bchamness1 Жыл бұрын

Krampus has recently even started showing up in some towns here in the Pacific Northwest of USA where I live! I'm not entirely sure why, and local people probably don't know all the history, but I've seen some IG posts about it. You've done a good job of sharing the history and current day experience! Love your videos! (P.S. Our daughter lives in Stuttgart with her German husband and we'll be spending Christmas with them! I've shared your channel with her and she's appreciated hearing your perspective and learning a few things too!)

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Oh thanks so much for sharing our channel with your daughter! And how funny that Krampus has started showing up in the PNW! I mean, it goes perfectly with American Halloween culture…

@concertinamadrigals4058 Жыл бұрын

It wouldn't surprise me if the Krampus was introduced by the modern pagans down there. The need to acknowledge that life is comprised of both positive and negative elements and moments, and not the pure joy and "toxic positivity" people wanna cling to at this time. For our ancestors, winter was a time of lack and death, so the Solstice represented the hope of the sun's return to full strength. Saint Nicholas and the Krampus are symbolic opposites: light and dark, life and death, hope and fear... (Solstice greetings from Vancouver Island, BC)

@salzlakritz818 Жыл бұрын

One of my favourite Christmas poems is "Knecht Ruprecht" by Theodor Storm (published in 1898) Here is a translation by Thomas Feickert. Enjoy reading! Knecht Rupprecht by Theodor Storm Out of the forrest I come over here. Again I have to say Christmas is near. all over there on all treetops so bright I saw a shimmering golden light. And over me there was heavens door, with big eyes the christchild was looking for more. As walking through darkwoods of my choice, It calls me with it's bright an clear voice. To old fellow Rupprecht it called: Good luck! Pick up your legs and hurry up, the candles begin to burn up again and heavens door is open and then, older and younger now shall rest from the hunt of life and this at it's best. And tomorrow I will fly down to you to bring again Christmas whole world through. I said: Oh my Lord Christ beloved, My travel around the earth is enough, in this little town I have just to go where children live good and honest and so... And with you have you got your sack? I said: The sack is on my back. As apples, nuts and almondcore, good children eating more and more. Have you then your rod with you? I said: Again the rod is here too. But for children as they were evil only the rod is not staying for long time lonely. Christchild was speaking: You do always right, Faithfully servant, with god go tonight. So out of the forrest I come over here. Again I have to say Christmas is near. Now say what children in the room here I find, those with a good or an evil mind?

@EvaCornelia Жыл бұрын

I remember that one from my childhood. We had to learn it by heart (in German), not sure if it was in Kindergarten or school. Thanks for that.

@o.b.7217 Жыл бұрын

*Knecht Ruprecht* _(by Theodor Storm)_ ----- Von draußen, vom Walde komm ich her; ich muss euch sagen, es weihnachtet sehr! Überall auf den Tannenspitzen sah ich goldene Lichtlein blitzen, und droben aus dem Himmelstor sah mit großen Augen das Christkind hervor. Und wie ich strolch' durch des finstern Tann, da rief's mich mit heller Stimme an: "Knecht Ruprecht", rief es, "alter Gesell´, heb deine Beine und spute dich schnell! Die Kerzen fangen zu brennen an, das Himmelstor ist aufgetan, Alt und Jung sollen nun von der Jagd des Lebens einmal ruhn, und morgen flieg ich hinab zur Erden; denn es soll wieder Weihnachten werden!" Ich sprach: "Oh lieber Herr Christ, meine Reise fast zu Ende ist; ich soll nur noch in diese Stadt, wo's eitel gute Kinder hat." "Hast denn das Säcklein auch bei dir?" Ich sprach: "Das Säcklein, das ist hier; denn Äpfel, Nuß und Mandelkern essen fromme Kinder gern." "Hast denn die Rute auch bei dir?" Ich sprach: "Die Rute, die ist hier; doch für die Kinder nur, die schlechten, die trifft sie auf den Teil den rechten!" Christkindlein sprach: "So ist es recht; so geh mit Gott, mein treuer Knecht!" Von draußen, vom Walde komm ich her; ich muss euch sagen, es weihnachtet sehr! Nun sprecht, wie ich's hier innen find! sind's gute Kind', sind's böse Kind'?

@ClaudiaG.1979 Жыл бұрын

i remember this poem very well.. every christmas eve my aunt wanted us to tell her a poem.. and of course the only poem we kids knew was "knecht ruprecht"

@darklady6987 Жыл бұрын

wow, i learned a lot on a sunday morning. what a nice tradition. i've heard about it but never seen it or know the story. thanx see u on the next one.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

So glad you enjoyed it! Happy 3rd advent Sunday!

@guenterserwotka8669 Жыл бұрын

What a great video. I never heard such a good explanation of the traditions around Krampus and Knecht Rupprecht. I was growing up close to Nuernberg and I was already an adult when I first experienced a Krampuslauf in Austria. I thought it was funny, but it could have gotten dangerous as well. Some Krampuses were on small motorbikes and they were obviously totally drunk. So yes I agree, we were all flirting with our dark side.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Yeah if they don’t get violent or hurt anyone, it’s actually fun! But when little kids are crying, it’s a big no for me.

@markovincek1835 Жыл бұрын

I love You so much! So Happy to see all This beautiful stories…. ❤️❤️❤️ Love from Croatia 🇭🇷

@matthewrandom4523 Жыл бұрын

And again: Very well observed and explained! I really enjoy watching your vlog with all of these videos about my homeland, esp. from the South. And I'm very happy you displayed a movie poster of Tim Burton's A nightmare before Christmas. I love this movie! And since I watched it in the mid 1990ies I know for sure: There's a dark side of the American Christmas tradition as well😇😁 Merry Christmas and all my best wishes for all of you! Kind regards from the South-West German-French boarder👍

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

So glad you enjoyed it!

@daisyXOXOXO Жыл бұрын

I'm German and I had never heard about Krampus until recently. He's called Knecht Ruprecht in my part of Germany (Baden-Württemberg), but never really played a big role really

@arnodobler1096 Жыл бұрын

Hello McFalls, the Krampuslauf reminds me very much of the Swabian-Alemannic Fasnacht (carnival), in southwest Germany and Switzerland, there it also goes wild. Some wood-carved masks 👹👺(Larve) that these groups wear, is passed down through generations. On Funkensonntag, the Sunday after, there is a house-high fire 🔥, the sparks fly, there is bratwurst, schnaps and mulled wine and the winter is burned. Happy Advent to all!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Oh very interesting! Thanks for sharing, didn’t know about that tradition.

@timosauter975 Жыл бұрын

Yes, that's what I was reminded of as well. Born and raised in the Danuberegion of BW, as a kid I never heard of Krampus, our familiys' christmas traditions centered around the Christkind and St. Nikolaus and Knecht Rupprecht. When I moved to Bavaria and saw those masks, I thought they were connected to Fasnacht/Faschingclubs at first as they look quite similar to some of those at a first glance. Where I was raised, these clubs were almost always the 2nd biggest club in a village, just behind the local football/soccer club and as Arno said, their masks are some kind of family heirlooms. So, in this region, there was nothing akin to these Krampusruns around Christmas, but there are similar parades for Fasching in February with cubs from the Swiss German-speaking part of Switzerland, Swabia, and the Rhine Region of Baden coming together and touring the villages and cities. This ends with the Funkensonntag, as Arno already alluded to, where most people of a village join for a big bonfire with music to celebrate the end of the dark time of the year. I'll always remember a trip that our family did on one of those Funkensonntage, we were visiting relatives and drove home when it got dark and then, suddenly all those fires lit up in the hills of the Schwäbische Alb. That was just magical to me as a kid.

@martinkno7351 Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife you also should attend the tirol fasnacht. Its very colorful, an old tradition and symbolizes the fight between summer and winter....lookup nassereither schellerlaufen 🙂

@Milchfrosch Жыл бұрын

Yes, and there are no fences

@timosauter975 Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife If you haven't done so, you should absolutely visit on of those Fasnachtsumzüge, especially as the regions where they exist aren't that far of for you. They differ quite a bit from the carnival parades of the middle Rhein cities (most famously Cologne/Mainz,Düsseldorf). Both have costumes and hand out candy, but as far as I experienced it, the carnival parades include more human and modern costumes, also it includes heavy satiric elements to topple political or social topics. Fasching/Fasnacht parades on the surface don't include satric elements, the costumes are more traditional (less human, more scary) but also less flashy (not saying carnival has less tradition, but I guess, carnival and with it it's feeling and costumes somewhat modernized during the medival times due to it being more incluenced by the heigher weight of big city populations in those regions). As an analogy, I always get the vibe, that carnival is more Disney (not meaning shallow) and Fasnacht is more Grimm from the outside. If you want to look into where to go for that, www.suedkurier.de/baden-wuerttemberg/fastnacht-2023-termine-fuer-bodensee-schwarzwald-und-hochrhein;art417930,11358685 seems like a good start. Edit: the "rules" for those parades are basically the same as with the Krampusruns. Fasnacht to me looks less rowdy, but still, if you don't want to be included in the playpart of the clubs (behing hit, having parts of your costume stolen etc), stay a little bit back or stay in the areas where most of the children are. The particiants are usually told to be less aggressive with their games for these areas and the older club members will try to calm down everything there to make it more kids-friendly.

@larissakrause5620 Жыл бұрын

I loved this intro. It was really good.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Thank you! I had so much fun goofing off in the woods. 😂

@h.s.3273 Жыл бұрын

Another tip: On January 6th, 2023, the season of the "Swabian Almanian Fasnacht" begins in Southwest Germany and ends on February 22nd, 2023. In the Black Forest, Upper Swabia, Swabian Alb, Upper Rhine, Lake Constance and also in Switzerland and parts of Austria there are many "Carnival parades" on the often very beautiful medieval towns. For example in the city of Rottweil (yes the dog breed comes from there). Just look on the internet at "Schwäbisch Allemanische Fastnacht" there you will find out the dates and the background of this tradition.

@abee8405 Жыл бұрын

Hi there, thank you or this wonderful video! I think maybe the Krampusläufe go back to the celtic wild hunt that is supposed to ride in the sky during this time o year. I love how you explained everything so well.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Ah yes, I had a comment at the end of the video I read about the Scandinavian wild hunt. It makes sense!

@butenbremer1965 Жыл бұрын

It's still very interesting to learn how diverse this country actually is. I was born and raised in Bremen, Knecht Ruprecht really wasn't a factor at all growing up. Of course, I found a "Rute" in my boot once or twice - I never made the connection to Knecht Ruprecht though, who to this day I still can't visualize. A local Bremen tradition back in the late 1960s and early 970s when I was a kid was to put on St.Nikolaus costumes and go from door to door together with a bunch of other kids from my neighborhood- caroling and asking for treats. To me, this sounds familiar to the "Trick'r'Treat" thing Americans do on Halloween but without the trickering. The Fasching / Karneval / Fastnacht tradition also is so, so diverse in GER. This might be an interesting topic to tackle in future videos. Frohe Weihnachten!!!🥰🥰🥰

@robertzander9723 Жыл бұрын

With traditions like Krampuslauf you have to inform yourself first and after the first experience you already know what happens and you start to be more careful. I guess in Munich they don't do it, because of all the tourists from around the world, the most of the time the tourists don't know and become heavily surprised. Unfortunately also some of the Krampus people don't have the right feeling on how to do it correctly. And like you said in your video, the Celts were all over Europe and an interesting fact is that the roads, highways and streets that we use in Austria and some areas of Bavaria today are origin made by the Celts to travel from one settlement to the next. Thanks for the video, have lovely third advent 🕯️ 🕯️🕯️ Knecht Ruprecht was a story of my grandparents, my parents never used it for me and my brother.

@gnomeway2 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for bringing up the point that kids, like adults, are learning and can make mistakes. We are like you guys and in our family, we have never brought up that during Christmas (or the holidays) Santa will take away gifts.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Yeah it’s so unfair that children were always punished more than adults when they’re the ones who know the least! They’re just learning - they don’t need fear and punishment. They need teaching and correction.

@isana788 Жыл бұрын

Wow, the kids are very brave. It's not easy to survive Christmas in Europe :D. When Santa Claus came to us with Knecht Ruprecht, I was always more afraid of Santa Claus because he was the boss. Knecht Ruprecht always stood behind him. The first time I thought Santa gave a job to a homeless man, but it was Knecht Ruprecht. I was always a bit scared but the magic was indescribably beautiful. On December 6th you were always excited, you waited for it to get dark. When the sun went down, my grandmother said that the blush came from Santa Claus's oven and that he was still baking cookies and wasn't coming until later. I always had all the doors open so I would hear the bells too. It was nice and soo magical.

@ginafromcologne9281 Жыл бұрын

Ah, Knecht Ruprecht. haha, that conjures up some nice childhood memories! :) My family always thought I became vegetarian because my best friends at Kindergarten were. But the day that changed my diet was the 6th of December, when I went with my aunt and uncle to the butcher's to get some cold cuts for supper. We stood in the queue and suddenly my aunt and uncle started giggling and I asked why. They pointed at some minced meat, grinning, and asked me if I knew what that was. When I innocently said "meat for Frikadellen", my uncle went "noooo! This is from bad children Knecht Ruprecht caught and put in the grinder, while they were screaming!" My aunt was nodding with a smile and the other grown-ups in the shop had a good laugh. haha. When I told my parents about it, they went "oh yes, that's what he does! But you're a good child, aren't you?" :) It's not as funny as it sounds when you're 4 though. lol.

@SABRINA.ARMY.BTS. Жыл бұрын

You're such a good storyteller ! I’ve never seen a Krampuslauf but it’s always interesting to learn more about the country I live in! Greeting from NRW , I live just a few minutes away at the Dutch border.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Krampuslaüfe are definitely another worldly experience. It was SO bizarre!

@claudiaberger9639 Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife "Krampusläufe" 👹

@Lacuna555 Жыл бұрын

This was a great video to watch the day before christmas, thank you! I love, that you included the pagan aspects of christmas, which is so much avoided in TV, but I think it is important to know where we came from.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Glad you liked the history. It bothers me now that we were taught to fear Pagan/Celtic practices by the church. Just another form of colonialism. What so many don’t realize is so many of our customs and traditions come from pagan roots - their ideas and customs live on even if people think they were “evil.” It was just another way of looking at the world.

@Lacuna555 Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Exactly! Discrimmination still goes on against paganism today. I am not a pagan, but it bothers me, that pagans are often automatically assumed to be Nazis here in Germany. There might also be some Nazis who are pagans, which is sad, but not every pagan is a Nazi, just because he practices his spirituality... So many of our traditions come from paganism, we can't cut ourselfs off of our own roots and deamonize it, without causing damage to ourselfs. To know where we came from gives us strenghth, and can help us learn and make things better now, but it seems, that this is not wanted by authorites in politics and from churches... Wolf Dieter Storl writes great books, that help me build myself a bridge from our old roots to todays life (some of his books are translated in enlish too) "Die alte Göttin und ihre Pflanzen" is my favourite, he explains the spiritual, pagan meanings of the Grimm fairytales in this book and how the pagan characters were changed during the christianisation. Thank you again for the great video, gerne mehr davon!

@vbvideo1669 Жыл бұрын

Great Video! :)

@mareinagy4764 Жыл бұрын

My daughter christened the guy "Mr. Knupricht" because neither the word "Knecht" (servant, I always understood it to mean farmhand) nor the name mean anything to her. They had St. Nikolaus and "Mr. Knupricht" visit her grade school and she strongly suspects that they were their beloved, sweethearted and kind janitor who is already retired and his equally lovable successor dressed up to surprise them.

@asmodon Жыл бұрын

When I went to university in Tübingen our fraternity had a tradition of hosting a Nikolaus celebration for the children of former members. One of us played St. Nikolaus who was the host of the evening and another one played Knecht Ruprecht whose only job was to drink as many beers as possible without anybody noticing. The beer score is running almost 100 years.

@Laura-jo9qj Жыл бұрын

I think it's beautiful how you guys talk about german traditions in such a respectful way. It's totally okay to not love certain traditions though, I don't particularly like the Krampuslaufe to be honest. They can get pretty wild and got a lot of criticism over the years. Yet you can still respect it and be open about it. Traditions can get outdated over time and I think it's beautiful to still remember them but maybe reform them as time changes. Telling children they will get beaten or kidnapped if they are naughty is just not ok, tradition or not. Wanting to see a Krampuslauf just for the thrill of it can be fun though. Thank you for telling people about this tradition! I hope you have a great christmas time here in Germany.😊🎄

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

I so agree with all of your thoughts, thank you for sharing them! I think you’re so right that traditions can get outdated over time and need to be modified as we evolve and learn more.

@Alexander-dt2eq Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife also your kids would not have been beaten if they had known the tradition from the past years. from Kindergarten and so on. or at least they would have gotten a chance to decide if they wanna get the action. never seen that in my area though. its not even spread across all of southern Bavaria. more like the southern-east close to Austria

@EternalWordMinistry Жыл бұрын

Samhain is an Irish Gaelic word, which would have been quite different to the Celtic languages spoken on mainland Europe. As an Austrian living in Ireland who has not been able to manage to learn Irish (Gaeilge) so far, I have been made aware by my children, that in Irish Gaelic “mh” in the middle of a word usually has a “v” sound and therefore Samhain should be pronounced more like Sow-in or sah-win.

@Stogey1 Жыл бұрын

Yooo idk why but that hot coco joke had me dead 😂😂🤣💀

@Stogey1 Жыл бұрын

Prolly cause you high

@marionlaicher5911 Жыл бұрын

When my kid was small we always had Nikolaus and Knecht Ruprecht at our home . It was always fun and my daughter was very excited . The kids in Baden Würtemberg are prepared for this eve . They learn some poems to earn their gifts . Sometimes Knecht Ruprecht hit the adults for fun . But not so hard as the Krampusse does . People who don't like it put candy and litle gifts in the Stiefel of their kids .

@berndhoffmann7703 Жыл бұрын

After only 1:21 Minutes it killed me, you are such a star! You must have been brilliant in school at that stuff. It reveals hidden talents!!! I bet - you would have been a quite nasty and vile Knecht Ruprecht helper!

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Hahahah thank you! So glad you enjoyed my antics! While I was filming, some hikers had to walk by and I had to pretend like I was filming the trees so I wouldn’t embarrass myself too much!

@berndhoffmann7703 Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife omg - that could have ended quite embarrassing :)

@schoppi9300 Жыл бұрын

Wie immer sind eure Vlogs einfach super🥰. Einen schönen 3 Advent wünsche ich euch. Interesting how different our traditions are in Germany. I come from an East Frisian island in the North Sea where we celebrate a festival that only takes place on this island. Instead of St. Nicholas, we celebrate Klaasohm on 5 December. He doesn't look like Krampus, but as a child I was afraid of him, because he has a similar function to Knecht Ruprecht or Krampus. In addition, women should not go out on the street on this day, because otherwise they get something on their butt with the cow horn :-)Of course, the women do it anyway and run away when the Klaasohm comes. This dates back to the whaling days when all the men and boys were whaling in Greenland and only came back to the island in winter. They wanted to have the island to themselves for a day :-) It's funny how traditions develop. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/lahxlJOTnKqxd2Q.html

@H8MACHINE1 Жыл бұрын

Knecht Ruprecht wird mir vom KZfaq-Übersetzer als Connect Grouprect angezeigt 😂😂😂

@515aleon Жыл бұрын

Wow that's wild!!! I have a feeling this might go over well now in the US. There is a little more tolerance for dystopia than there used to be. Perhaps even like the whippings. :D More with adults though, hence the popularity of Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas. The "naughty list" never had any influence on my parents, though they still practiced a bit of state sponsored child battery. BTW. Krampus really looks like a male alpine goat. Saw a real one once.

@marlenehibiskus Жыл бұрын

I love Krampus . It does not feel scary to me at all but somehow cosy :D

@marlajacques6947 Жыл бұрын

I think it’s beautiful too, maybe we are goth girls at heart 😉

@REMYDANN Жыл бұрын

You are explaining well

@Danisachan Жыл бұрын

Krampus is really unheard of in the region of Germany where I grew up (East!). 😄 We had "Knecht Ruprecht"! True story: When we had a St. Nikolaus events in our Kita when we were small (with parents, sweets and everything) one boy (the most disobedient, loud and disruptive) didn't get a present from St. Nikolaus, but instead got a rod of twigs from Knecht Ruprecht (his infamous accessory!) No punishment happened, but the message got across, that he was the "naughty" child out of the bunch of us who didn't "deserve" a present! Also: Knecht Ruprecht was always just a brown-dressed Nikolaus basically. A bit more scruffy and rough-looking, but generally the affable companion to Nikolaus, who both got along swell, because they represent both sides of the coin.

@tammywhatley910 Жыл бұрын

I had never heard of Krampus until a few years ago. It sounded scary. I do understand more about it now but it's still scary. I don't think they should hit you or touch anyone negatively. Here in the auS, I always heard about getting coal but as a child I never thought it really happened. Merry Christmas 🎄

@minceri9346 Жыл бұрын

Krampus reminds me of the swabian witches, that roam the streets during Fasching in Baden Württemberg. Fasching is closely related to carnival, where parades are being held and candy is being thrown, but in a much darker aesthetic. While there are lots of fun and colourful costumes, there are also these horrifying witches dressed in fur and masks, sometimes with bladders hanging from their costumes. They are pretty rough, tying people to lamp posts or throwing them over their shoulder and taking them away, just to get rid of them in some christmas tree nets, where it's really hard to get out of. There are also exclusive "Hexenumzüge", which are sometimes age restricted. If you're interested you should check Fasching out! :)

@ClaudiaG.1979 Жыл бұрын

i grew up in baden württemberg and yes, those witches are far more scarier than knecht ruprecht.. i was sooo scared of them when i was a kid..

@kerstinklenovsky239 Жыл бұрын

You moved to Bavaria. 😱 They are something else! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Yeah things are always different in the mountains! But Knecht Ruprecht isn’t that much better…

@kerstinklenovsky239 Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife As much as I appreciate an oomphy approach to life, I tend to find the Bavarians rather scary at times, in their oomphiness! 😳 Having said that, you guys from Georgia seem to be very capable to cope with them psychologically! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@stefanb6539 Жыл бұрын

Kudos for the "horrorfilm" intro. That was actually cute. Also, I watched some anthroplogy videos about pagan tradition. Turns out, that good old Saint Nick himself has a heck a lot of common tropes with Odin/Wotan/the Wild Hunt. Btw, I think if you understand the scary part only as manipulative, you are missing out. I don't know if your kids are at that age yet, but some time you should try telling scary stories to them, not to punish them, but because they'll really love it. If it's done right, it's definitely a way to get off the boring list and back on the cool list.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Yes! Last year we did a video on the origins of the Christmas tree and mentioned that St. Nick/Santa have their origins in the Norse god, Odin. History is fascinating!

@LucaSitan Жыл бұрын

What a great video! Samhain is actually pronounced "Sowen" - the Celtic language is very weird...Such a pity this isn't celebrated here in the North, I used to love it as a kid, the excitement. In our region the young men would later in the night go from house to house, scare the people and threaten to beat them unless they were given alcohol 😅

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Ah okay, thanks for letting us know how it’s pronounced. That is also a quite dark tradition.

@HaNa-pu3bu Жыл бұрын

Hier im Norden von Deutschland habe ich diese Tradition noch nie gesehen o gehörg, ich kenne es nur aus Erzählungen von Freunden aus dem Süden

@agn855 Жыл бұрын

Interesting how you create the Vanille/a Kipferl. I seem to remember that those are little pieces of dough that are rolled and shaped like a crescent moon (kinda little croissant) and sprinkled afterwards with "Puderzucker" using a sieve!?

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

That’s exactly what we did…it’s all in the video. 😏

@EvaCornelia Жыл бұрын

In the US, everything is bigger than in Europe ;)

@philippbock3399 Жыл бұрын

Dear McFall-Family, thank you for your heart warming videos. I come from Lower Bavaria but in 2020 I got a new colleague. She is from Franconia (the area around Nuremberg) and there (as well as in some other protestant areas) they have the "Pelzmärtel" - instead of Heiliger Nikolaus and St. Martin. This figure developed because the protestants did not want to have saints or to believe in saints. As an "alternation" more and more the "Pelzmärtel" was invented. In other regions he is called "Pelznickel" etc. He has presents for nice children and a "rod" for not so nice children and includes "Nikolaus" and "Knecht Ruprecht/Krampus" in one person. Nice children also get a "boot" filled with sweets as we usually get on St. Nikolaus Day. The Pelzmärtel usually "visits" the children around "St. Martins Day" (the "Märtel" in the word Pelzmärtel comes from "Martin" and "Nickel"/Pelznickel from Nikolaus) but it depends on where you live. Some say Pelzmärtel (or Pelznickel) "visits" the children around St. Martins Day whereas he "visits" the children around St. Nikolaus in other places. I think in Francony the Pelzmärtel comes on St. Martins Day because my colleague told me that they have/celebrate Pelzmärtel instead of St. Martin. Lots of greetings from Philipp

@carklimpoel2009 Жыл бұрын

I Love Four Voices. I wish i would have parents like you

@Alcarinqu Жыл бұрын

I really like your perspective on german traditions! :) The interesting thing about these "old traditions" is, that most of them they are not that old (relatively). A lot of them originated after the mediaeval times, especially in the 19th century. There seemed to have been a big need to reinvent ancient traditions a lot of these connection to ancient gods and legends where fabricated then. Daemons and witches (and driving them away/burning them) were also more a thing of the early modern period not the mediaeval times.

@uschil228 Жыл бұрын

As an austrian, I think I should write something about Krampus. The Krampuslauf in my village never has a fence, they have wips, and will go after teenagers and children and adults that try to tease them. I used to run after them and tease them a lot growing up. I was "locked" in a cage with on Krampus once for a few minutes, because of it . I know many of the boys and girls that are in the costumes, so that dosn't help a lot. Usually they are very nice to small children. They run around for about 30 minutes in a circle on the "Platz" were it happens. In the end Saint Nikolaus comes with a carriage and two angels and give out chocolate to the children. There are Punschhütten all around the place so most teenagers and adults a a bit drunk but the Krampi aren't allowed to drink until its over.

@CHarlotte-ro4yi Жыл бұрын

I am Bavarian (though to be fair I grew up outside of Bavaria for a good part of my upbringing) and while I appreciate traditions like Krampusläufe I would also draw the line where I get physically hit. Also as a Kindergarten child I was scared as hell of St. Nicholas himself (he came on his own to the Kindergarten, no Krampus, no Knecht Ruprecht). I think an elderly men with a beard was enough to scare the sh*** out of my little 4-year old self (I literally hid behind other children :D).

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Yeah true. There are many kids who are very afraid in the USA of Santa Claus and parents will force their kids to sit in his lap and then laugh when they cry and scream. I hate it and disagree with them doing it! Scaring a child for FUN is never okay, even when it's Santa!

@uwepolifka4583 Жыл бұрын

I heared about Kramus first in 2016 from a 2015. movie with this name. The trailer is on YT. Here in northern germany we have Knecht Ruprecht. Krampus is nearby unknown. Krampus is a thing of the mountain regions. The most crazy and scary costumes are made from straw and you can´t see there is only a human inside. Video is on YT: 5.12.2016 - SEIDÄ PASS

@rdgf_kl Жыл бұрын

Hi guys, love your take on Krampus, who scared me so much as an Austrian kid. Our version was more like a goat man in black or red fur with a goaty devil's mask, a birch rod and chains. In my long ago childhood and youth there was a Krampus version for kids, with Krampus being St Nikolaus's servant, but also a lot of adultish innuendo like sexy Krampus postcards... I just double-checked an Irish speaker's insta post (by someone who is Irish and teaches the language) , so just a pronunciation note: since it's an Irish word Samhain has no Sam in it but is pronounced something like sow-an (sow like female pig or German Sau). The mh is a sound a bit like English w although I have also seen it's a bit more like v in the middle of words.

@christophmartin5381 Жыл бұрын

Here in South East Bavaria starts roughly in the region around Regensburg to North Austria this is a big thing. And when I was a child Krampus was always in companion with Nikolaus. He had a chain and a huge sack and a kind of beton. We clearly had respect for Krampus and we hoped not to be punished by him.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Okay good to know it goes as far north as Regensburg! I didn’t know that.

@christophmartin5381 Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Maybe I should have written...Was a big thing, my kids had no Krampus in Kindergarten and at home. And that is def. better. Some stories tell that even years after , some kids were traumatised. One story and I think it was right, that a boy of a family was pit into the sack and brought outside to the garden. I don't want to imagine how terrifying that must have been 😱😂 But on the other side, most kids took it easy and had fun with Krampus/Knecht Ruprecht. Maybe in a bit softer version it can help kids become more resilient ?

@kimberlyholt2241 Жыл бұрын

I love to hear you tell about the culture! You're right, here in America, one touch would mean a huge lawsuit! 🤦‍♀️🎄

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Yeah that’s so true! The hitting would never be allowed in the US today. But I have been in haunted houses before where men chased me and pushed me, though in my mind, that’s much different than hitting a child.

@ThePixel1983 Жыл бұрын

19:55 little cameo in the back 😁

@michaelgrabner8977 Жыл бұрын

Krampus in Austria is not "Half - wolf" ..it is also "Half-Goat"...and although the origin is Celtic the Germanic influence is huge as well ..and the appearance of Krampus is derived from the way older germanic pagan Demon "Habergeiß" - "Geiß" means "Goat" and it is Half goat and half horse or half bird and stands in close relation to the scandinavic "Julbock". But nowadays the handcrafted wooden masks became "very free to interpretation" let´s say. The Krampus tradition as we know it today = "Perchtenlauf + Combi with St. Nik" isn´t - that - old ..started round about 16th/17th century. And before and in the medi eval times and before it was solely the "Habergeiß/Habergoaß" and that Winter-Demon had nothing to do with St. Nikolaus = no mingeling with Christianity but was pure alpine germanic pagan tradition.

@lucaaa03 Жыл бұрын

i just remembered: while i don't like the fact that the krampus people hurt kids sometimes, there have actually been lots of incidents where they were hurt themselves. There was an one just recently where some drunk teenagers grabbed a krampus by its horns and ripped its' "head" off by their horns and it actually really badly injured the guy cause his neck almost snapped and he had to go to hospital :( (Sorry my english is really bad)

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Oh that’s horrible!

@frankj10000 Жыл бұрын

Don't worry. Your English is fine.

@sisuguillam5109 Жыл бұрын

Your english is rather good!

@fairgreen42 Жыл бұрын

There also have been incidents were drunk rowdies wanted to show off their " bravery" and set Krampuses on fire. So the security goes both ways.

@mulraf Жыл бұрын

Never heard of a krampuslauf, but as a child friends of my family would put on costumes. One as nikolaus and the second one as krampus. But honestly, if i remember correctly, he also wore the same thing as nikolaus just with a whip as an extra 😂Honestly i was really scared though and while i wouldn't say it had any sort of impact on me really it's definitely not something that i would miss if we didn't have it. Definitely a kinda... weird tradition edit: after the video seems more like that was knecht ruprecht. hm. i've heard of him but my parents used to say it was krampus. maybe "discount krampus" would fit better. guess they are kinda similar 😅

@alrunh.5998 Жыл бұрын

Nice Video! Nearly every Christmas tradition is of pagan origin. Father Christmas is Father Winter (maybe mixed with Wotan/Odin), Chrismas Trees are a Yule tradition and so forth. I am from Northern Germany, I never heard of Krampus until I moved to Southern Germany, but I knew Knecht Ruprecht. As far as I know he was inventet in the Early Modern Age to scare unruly children. But as a kid I wasn't very afraid of him. Krampus is much scarier.

@udoguenther3593 Жыл бұрын

I'm a fan of your videos, especially those about traditions and ancient doings. There are lots of tales and mysteries about the time of christmas and thereafter. The celts believed that between December 25th and Jan 6th (epiphany), in the „Rauhnächte“, the gates between the men’s world and the underworld weakened so that the ghosts and daemons oft he realm of the death could reach and invade our world. So, especially in dark, stormy and cold winter nights people can see the „Wilde Jagd“ or „Wild Hunt“ crossing the sky. The Wild Hunt crosses the air with a terrible rattle accompanied by screams, yells, howls, wails, groans and moans. But sometimes he also makes lovely music, which is then usually taken as a good omen; otherwise he announces bad times. Men, women and children take part in the procession, mostly those who have met a violent or unfortunate death prematurely. In general, the Wild Hunt is not hostile to humans; but it is advisable to prostrate oneself or shut oneself up in the house and pray. Those who provoke or mock the army will inevitably suffer harm, and those who deliberately look out of the window to see the army may swell their heads so that they cannot pull them back. Leader of the “Wild Hunt” is “Frau Perchta” or “Frau Holle”, another identity of the ancient northern godess Freya. The tasks of St. Nikolaus’ fiercy companions is to threaten the ghosts and daemons of the underworld during these nights. You are also not allowed to hang up your laundry outside during the rough nights, so as not to attract the attention of the Wild Hunt. In southern Germany in Baden-Württemberg where I live there exist many of those companions in many villages which fight against the evil during the Holy Night. The names of these companions are e.g. “Pelzmärtle”, an unmarried young male, sewn into a robe made of grain stalks, in which he strides through his own village on Christmas Eve and makes sure that no harm happens to the people. Or “The Belzer”, some young unmarried men dressed in furs, hung with large bells, who parade around the own village on Christmas Eve and push away the evil with their bells.

@andeekaydot Жыл бұрын

This!! Was looking for that historical explanation. It even comes together with Frau Holle or Hulda, and it's about the darkest time of the year and those five short days and six long nights which did not belong to the old year nor to the new one, as the 12 months only counted 360 days. You were not supposed to do laundry and hang textile to dry in those days, for the Wilde Jagd could migle up in that and get very angry of you, causing bad fate... Farmers and their families would walk around their property to bless it, bless the cattle, set up candles, so the demons would not be confused and get upset on them.

@irisestherkorda1257 Жыл бұрын

18:00 sie ist wirklich mutig! bravo :D

@rubbertale Жыл бұрын

Grew up in Schönau am Königssee, and a „Bass“ (Group) of „Kramperl“ and „Buttnmandl“ with their huge bells on their back still give me the willies if only heard from far away today. Yes, it is a fascinating tradition, but scary for small children indeed. Later as teenagers however it was judt as traditional to follow those groups of 12 (13?) and try to unload snow from the trees down on them. The *Really* horrible stories actually contained actually setting fire to the „Buttnmandl“ who were bound into huge wades of straw… to watch those old customs, visit „Loipl“ near Berchtesgaden - but be prepared to run, those „Ruten“ braided from soaked Willow twigs HURT! Being part of a „Bass“ actually also was some sort of rite of passage for jung men between 16 and approx 20. Oh, and St. Nikolaus with his „Bass“ go round the houses where families are gathered, get given a text to read about good and bad deeds of every child present, then Nikolaus and obe or two of the Kramperl/Buttnmandl enter the room where everyone cowers… and each in turn had to step forward, get his or her litany, a stroke of the head for good deeds and a jumping, extremely loud groar and bell-ringing (which inside definitely is hurtful to the ears) for bad ones… often in the end one of the children would be pulled out and thrown into the snow - but then one of the Kramperl would come in again and empty a big sack full of nuts, oranges and sweets on the floor. I had this happen for about 12 years if my life - and now just hearing the bells from afar listening into the night of Dec 5th give me slight PTSD.

@GKViddingHD Жыл бұрын

Another fun tradition in your area is Goaßlschnalzen, which ends in late Feb. Check it out, it is quite impressive how a row of men will swing their wips to "chase away the evil winter spirits".

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Ah yes! We’ve seen that at festivals last year. Well, men making percussion with their whipsz

@7.obermonster457 Жыл бұрын

Where I live there are no fences... They simply go running after children. It's really loud because of the bells and loughter, since most children actually enjoy running from them and even kinda provoke them as the Krampus pass by. But they don't actually really hit here, just catching. It's amazing how they can even run around with those heavy costumes on.

@BobWitlox Жыл бұрын

Here's a trailer for a Dutch documentary on these traditions in various parts of Europe. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/qMuKjNFns6jWcqc.html

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Oh cool! Thanks for sharing.

@lucaaa03 Жыл бұрын

This is so interesting to watch as someone from Rostock 🤣 I have never seen a Krampus Lauf and it seems strange but also fun! But honestly most of bavarian stuff seems strange to germans from the north 😅 like that they actually hurt the kids, that's sort of weird even if they're giving them candy after ... always cool to learn more about your own country though

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Yeah it’s really fascinating. And we were surprised that Krampus is a thing in many Alpine regions - from Switzerland through Slovakia!

@LunaBianca1805 Жыл бұрын

Seems more like a thing of the Alpine region. I'm from NRW, there's no Krampusses here, either ^^' We got Saint Nick and Knecht Ruprecht, though🤔

@maylinde986 Жыл бұрын

When my first two kids were about Kindergarden and 2. grade we went with my sister in law and her three kids to a Mutter und Kind Kur in Bavaria around that time. As the Crampus came suddenly into school my son ran away and hid hisself. He was SO AFRAID, he did not want to go back to school or anywhere. I could not warn him, because I did not know HOW it really would be. I have to send him your video right away... That was over 25 years ago.

@keckks Жыл бұрын

When I was a kid in Oberallgäu (80ies and 90ies) the Rumpelklüsa had no numbers and there are still no gates to this day. They just run all over town and yes, they do hit you. There is also a traditional female Version called Klüsabärbele, which are much nicer and also give out Cookies to Kids.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Isn’t it interesting how the women are the nice characters and the men are the violent scary ones?!

@stimmkontorhannover9858 Жыл бұрын

great video. what is also very exciting is the character of Frau Holle. Originally she comes from Diana, the goddess of death, who hunts wildly across the country in winter. later the goddess Hulda or Holle was worshiped in many fountains, which was transformed into Maria with Christianization. this woman(Holle) travels through the country during the 12 rough nights (12 days of christmas) and sees who is busy and who is lazy. in southern Germany is still referred to today as Perchteweib spoken. the Perchta is the predecessor of St. Nicholas and always checks who is polite or naughty. the story behind these characters is fascinating.

@stimmkontorhannover9858 Жыл бұрын

Maxbe you know the fairytale of Frau Holle. It is a very famous one in germany.

@cayreet5992 Жыл бұрын

Frau Holle is connected much closer to Hel, the goddess of the Norse underworld. One of her jobs all year round is to take care of the souls of unbaptised children (as those definitely do not deserve to go to Hell). Diana also wasn't the goddess of death, but the goddess of the hunt.

@MyMerryMessyGermanLife Жыл бұрын

Ah very cool! I came across Frau Holle when researching for this video and it sounded quite fascinating. Thanks for sharing and adding to the conversation!

@Alexander-dt2eq Жыл бұрын

@@MyMerryMessyGermanLife gotta read "Grimms Märchen". Will give you a good insight in german behaviour and culture as a whole. its kind of a morale compass and stories and persons most germans know

@corinnaschenk9131 Жыл бұрын

Super gut erklärt! Ich bin ein Fan von Frau Holle.