The Library of Spanking Fiction: Wellred Weekly


Wellred Weekly
Volume 1, Number 3 : December 10, 2011
 
Articles
Items of interest regarding all things spanking

German Winter Traditions Involving the Birch Rod
by mati

Saint Nicholas & Krampus
The sixth of December is celebrated throughout Germany in honour of Saint Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra, who lived in the 4th century in Anatolia. According to the legend a poor father was going to sell his three daughters as prostitutes when St. Nicholas heard about their misery. He decided to help the family and on each of the three following nights went to their home and threw a large golden nugget through the window. In Germany, in memory of this noble gesture, children are visited at kindergarten, school or in the home and receive small gifts from someone dressed in the traditional costume of St. Nicholas.

This sounds like a nice tradition and one would expect German children to thoroughly enjoy this day. Strangely, however, St. Nicholas Day always evokes very mixed feelings of both hope and fear and on old pictures depicting this event we are more likely to see scared faces rather than happy ones, a phenomenon which can still be observed, especially in Bavaria, Austria and Switzerland.

The reason for it is that the pious St. Nicholas is often accompanied by some evil looking creatures. In the north it's mostly Knecht Ruprecht and in Bavaria it's the Krampus whose name derives from the Old High German word for claw (Krampen), but many regions have their own specific beasts such as Rumpelklas and Pelznickel. Other countries have equivalent figures, for example, in the German part of Switzerland, Samichlaus, the Swiss equivalent of St. Nicholas, is accompanied by the Schmutzli (meaning 'filthy') while in the Eastern regions of France St. Nicholas's sidekick is known as Père Fouettard (from 'whip'). Despite all the different names they all tend to have in common a devilish goat look (with horns, long tongue and a long tail) and a birch rod in hand which they carry in order to punish the naughty children.

Knecht Rupert
The St. Nicholas and Knecht Ruprecht tradition varies greatly in different parts of the country and has changed several times over the centuries. Two things, however, have not changed: the good children were rewarded and the bad children got the birch. In Northern Germany children simply place their boots in front of the door and St. Nicholas (or Knecht Ruprecht) puts some sweets or a birch (or both) in them. The decision about whether to use the rod or not was then left up to the parents.

The most common routine, however, is that St. Nicholas and Knecht Ruprecht (or Krampus) come to the home. What happens there is told in one of the most popular Christmas poems, which many Germans can still recite in full. Written by Theodor Storm in 1864, Knecht Ruprecht knocks on the door with his birch rod. He then informs the family that he has come from the forest where he met the Holy Christ who is already prepared for Christmas and who told him to hurry up. The Holy Christ (Christkind) then asks him how many children he has still to visit and if he has his sack containing the presents. Then he continues with:

'And is that rod there by your side?'
'The rod's there too,' I did reply;
but only for those, those naughty ones
who have it applied to their backsides.'
The Christ-child spoke: 'Then that's all right!
My loyal servant, go with God this night!
Now speak, what is there here to be had?
Are there good children, are there bad?

What most Germans don't know is that the poem was originally featured in a play and continues as follows:

father:
"The children are generally good,
but sometimes a little bit defiant too."

Knecht Ruprecht:
"Well, well, when it comes to bratty children
my long rod comes into good use.
Don't you say once in a while:
Head down and drop your pants?"

father:
"The moment one sins, he will be punished;
But right now they are good."

In this play young Harro only just manages to escape the rod. Another insight into Knecht Ruprecht's task has been provided by Goethe, who also contributed to this aspect of Christmas. His poem Death of a Christmas tree begins:

In the wintry forest, Knecht Ruprecht
whips the forester's boys like a shepherd,
And the fir trees shiver,
sensing the cruel axe coming.

Krampus
Please note, that in this poem the precursor for Christmas is not associated with ringing bells, singing angels or sparkling lights, but with Knecht Ruprecht whipping poor boys.

At this point some explanation about the nature and provenance of Knecht Ruprecht, Krampus and Co. are needed. Why is the kind-hearted St. Nicholas conniving with demons? Why do they work together and how did they meet? One theory states that the presence of demons fits well into Christian, especially Catholic, traditions. As the holy Nicholas is clearly in charge and the demons are only able to act when Nicholas gives them permission, and the Krampuses are also often in chains, this arrangement symbolises that good Christians have nothing to fear, even in the presence of incarnate evil. However, if anyone sins then they will lose this protection and be handed over to the devil.

Others say, that Knecht Ruprecht and Krampus have Celtic origins. That all these fur-coated, horned, noise-making, rod-swinging creatures belong in one way or another to the group of Perchten who used to drive out the winter around the time of Twelfth Night (Epiphany) and have their roots in the feast of Perchta, another legendary figure predominantly known in the Alpine region. As the name of Knecht Ruprecht comes from 'ruhpehrt' (which means 'raw percht'), they could well be right. All sorts of Perchten still populate the Alpine valleys and come out in the 'raw nights' (twelve nights, Rauhnächte), when the weather is cold, the days short and the nights long, to expel ghosts and chastise anybody who dares to be outside.

There have been many efforts by the church to abolish these customs. In the 16th century the Catholic Church condemned the wild hunt of the Perchten as superstition but thanks to the relatively isolated nature of the Alpine region the traditions never completely died out, becoming more popular after the secularization of the 19th and 20th centuries. So it's not really surprising that politically correct considerations regarding the rod-swinging Krampuses over the last 25 years failed too.

Krampus
So, Bavarian children are still visited by St. Nicholas and at least one Krampus (they typically come in herds), who threatens them with his rod before they eventually receive their sweets. The rod is of course no longer used for actual punishments but if some cheeky boys or girls try to anger the Krampus they might well be hunted and receive some light swats.

The Krampuses are mostly banned from kindergarten and schools nowadays but people don't want to abstain completely and a group of liberated Krampuses have started holding their own events. Krampusläufe (Krampus-runs) have traditionally always been popular in Austria, where the creatures invade the town streets on the fifth of December to terrify people, before being put in chains and they then have to follow Nicholas on the following day. During the last decade, however, Krampus runs have become very popular and now take place in more and more towns. Currently, the biggest Krampus run occurs in Salzburg, Austria with up to a thousand participants disguised as Krampuses. Traditionally, only unmarried men and those considered fit for military service take part, wearing diabolical masks, tremendous bells and using their long birch rods on passers-by.

The Klausen are distant cousins of the Krampuses and they too hunt through the streets on 5th December, predominantly in Oberallgäu, in order to beat anyone who is out and about. Their roots go back to pre-Christian times and, as they have never been tamed by Nicholas, their rites have always been a little bit wilder. Young men disguise themselves in the most horrible manner in order to scare winter ghosts by shouting, chain-rattling and bell-chiming. The swinging blows with their rods on both persons and objects are intended to drive any suspicious characters away. Some sources also mention that the blows, which were predominantly given to young girls, are believed to increase fertility.

With the increasing interest in old traditions during the past 30 years local associations have begun to organise the hunts with a number of restrictions in place. Today all Klausen have to register, need to have insurance and subscribe to a few rules regarding the force of the strokes, not beating little children and respecting safety zones. Having said that, it is still not advisable to nettle the Klausen too much, as they are always on the lookout for any reason to use their rods, especially on young cheeky girls, something they freely confess to on some of their web sites. You can get an impression of the Klausentreiben from numerous videos on YouTube.

In the interest of gender equality I would also like to mention the Bärbele-Springen ('Bärbele-Jumping') in Oberstdorf, an activity which can be viewed as the female equivalent of the Klausen's and takes place on the 4th of December, the Feast Day of St. Barbara. Young unmarried women clothed in tatters and masked with moss, fern or grass move around the villages with besoms. Sometimes they go into the houses to brush all the dirty and indecent things away. If someone gets a little too close, however, they may find themselves on the receiving end of some strokes with the besom. This is also supposed to increase fertility.

So whatever you have heard about ugly, rude and bastardly Germans, it will all prove to be true if you come and visit Munich, Oberstdorf or Sonthofen in December! During your stay you will have every chance of seeing some disguised creatures scaring little children and hunting people with their birch rods.

 
20 comments:
TheEnglishMaster said...
A fascinating study, clearly the result of extensive research. This should boost the pre-Christmas tourist trade to Southern Germany considerably! Thank you.
9 December 2011 22:14
sugarmouse said...
Why did I visit Germany in July?! December might have been a more sensible option :) Fascinating!
10 December 2011 00:45
Seegee said...
Wasn't it also custom for naughty children to find lumps of coal and/or rods of correction in their stockings rather than fruit and presents?
10 December 2011 03:13
AlanBarr said...
Really fascinating. Makes our UK customs seem very bland by comparison.
10 December 2011 09:57
canadianspankee said...
Wow, I had never heard of ones who went with Santa on his night of activity. In Canada, Santa flys alone and leaves lumps of coal if children are bad. Come to think about it though, it does not say what he leaves adults who don't behave. Is not the world of fantasy a wonderful place. We have this great spanking site due to fantasy and very young kids have Santa Klause (or whoever in their own country) in general to make one encouraged to behave and smile.

Well done Mati, an excellent article and I am sure you have surprised many of us North American folks with what can happen in other countries.
10 December 2011 17:00
islandcarol said...
We Americans have boring traditions, compared to Europeans. Our naughty children receive coal in their Christmas stocking instead of gifts. I never understood why. But now, after reading your article, I wonder if the coal symbolizes the heat in a punished bottom for bad behavior. Likely? Probably not. But, what the hell, this is a spanking site!
Interesting article!
10 December 2011 17:34
Februs said...
I have to say the sidekicks appeal to me a lot more than Saint Nicholas himself, maybe it's the thought of running amok through the streets and whacking the posterior of any woman you might happen to pass and without getting arrested for it (well that's my interpretation of it anyway!). I missed this year's Krampus run but will be inaugurating one for England next year, don't see why the Germans and Austrians should have all the fun.

A very enjoyable read, well done.
11 December 2011 15:21
blimp said...
It sounds a bit cruel, like those Middle European Fairy Tales. Shame there isn't a Mummy Christmas in the interests of gender equality. Fascinating article Mati! You Germans are worse than us!! I can't think why it's not called The German Vice!
11 December 2011 22:24
barretthunter said...
As with the fairy tales, I suspect the tradition is a way of expressing the dark side, which children are aware of and certainly needs to be confronted. The more God or spirits are seen as good and benevolent, the more people seek out something to balance. It could also be, as Mati seems to suggest, that the comparatively modern tradition manages to make survival of old pre-Christian elements acceptable by marrying them with a supposedly Christian figure - a common phenomenon in religious culture. A milder example of the same process occurs in the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic, which is basically pagan but which introduces a Christ-figure (adapted to fit in with the culture and storyline) towards the end.
12 December 2011 11:16
oldtom said...
Quite right too! Why should naughty children be given presents and not whippings...the very idea is terrible. Excellent article Mati.
1 June 2012 20:43
Gertie said...
I can't help but wonder how many girls might tempt fate by wandering around outside when the Klausen are at large. I can imagine a sort of game in which children dare each other to taunt the Klasuen, or challenge each other to go running past them. Or perhaps a story in which parents hang out some sort of banner inviting the Klausen inside to visit homes that have naughty children within.
2 June 2012 16:42
opb said...
Thansk for this article Mati, very interesting. I recall when my sister lived in Holland St. Nicholas had a sidekick called Swarti Piet (spelling questionable) who was responsibel for disciplining the naughty children, but I don't think he had a birch.
2 June 2012 22:11
drkeate said...
Reminds me of a Finnish film a couple of tears ago whose name I forget, where instead of being a present-giver Santa is a child-eating and scourging demon. The boy hero goes to bed every night with books taped to his bottom. I love reading about these customs, especially the girl-whipping ones. Here in Britain we just have hobby horses and the sticks have bladders on them. Women are dragged under the skirts of the horse with much shrieking.These customs seem to go right to the roots of the lure of spanking.
3 June 2012 06:55
Rainer said...
Nice to read. I see you can really good write! I hope your next Story told from our rl Boarding School for adults at the black forest.

best regards

Rainer.
7 June 2012 22:15
jools said...
This was very interesting and very well researched, Mati. I am especially interested since I have Swiss/German ancestry. I have heard English tales of Santa giving either presents (to good kids) or a lump of coal (to naughty children) but I have never heard of the European/ German custom of demonic figures birching the naughty. I bet a lot of spanko bottoms flock onto the streets on Dec 5th and 6th in the hope of running into a birch-wielding Krampus!
3 October 2012 11:12
westviking said...
Thank you for a very interesting article abaut Bavarian customs.
26 December 2012 08:51
cayenne said...
Gosh! I'm almost lost for words. Many thanks for this fascinating piece. This dark world is completely new to me.
26 December 2012 16:56
gail said...
What an amazing and well written article. Now you can be sure some LSF members would happily trade their meeting with Santa for one with the Krampus.
22 January 2013 18:22
nowings said...
Great article and I just rented and saw the wonderful film from Lapland (really - Lapland) titled "Rare Exports" - it is all about this topic - including naughty children, what really happens to them, finding the the real Santa (be careful what you look for) and a young hero - lots of fun. Netflix has it - enjoy - if you like this article you will love the movie.
27 January 2013 18:52
turk said...
A great article, very well done, the research and presentation was excellent. I have read about these traditions and I relate this to the German love of spanking.
27 June 2013 17:28

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