Companions of Saint Nicholas

The companions of Saint Nicholas are a group of closely related figures who accompany Saint Nicholas throughout the territories formerly in the Holy Roman Empire or the countries that it influenced culturally. These characters act as a foil to the benevolent Christmas gift-bringer, threatening to thrash or abduct disobedient children. Jacob Grimm (''Deutsche Mythologie'') associated this character with the pre-Christian house spirit (kobold, elf) which could be benevolent or malicious, but whose mischievous side was emphasized after Christianization. The association of the Christmas gift-bringer with elves has parallels in English and Scandinavian folklore, and is ultimately and remotely connected to the Christmas elf in modern American folklore.

Names for the "dark" or threatening companion figure include: ''Knecht Ruprecht'' in Germany, ''Krampus'' in Austria, Bavaria, Parkelj in Slovenia, Friuli, Croatia, Hungary (spelled ''Krampusz'');
''Klaubauf'' in Bavaria, Austria;
''Bartel'' in Styria;
''Pelzebock'';
''Befana'';
''Pelznickel'';
''Belzeniggl'';
''Belsnickel'' in the Palatinate (and also Pennsylvania, due to Pennsylvania Dutch influence);
''Schmutzli'' in the German-speaking part of Switzerland;
''Rumpelklas'';
''Bellzebub'';
''Hans Muff'';
''Drapp''; and
''Buzebergt'' in Augsburg.

The corresponding figure in the Netherlands and Flanders is called ''Zwarte Piet'' or ''Black Pete'', and in Swiss-German folklore ''Schmutzli'', (schmutz meaning dirt). In the Czech Republic, Saint Nicholas or ''svatý Mikuláš'' is accompanied by the ''čert'' (Devil) and ''anděl'' (Angel). In France, Saint Nicholas' companion is called ''Rubbels'' in German-speaking Lorraine and ''Hanstrapp'' in Alsace, East of France and the ''Père Fouettard'' (Wallonia, Northern and Eastern France).

Appearance

Often the subject of winter poems and tales, the Companions travel with Saint Nicholas carrying with them a rod (sometimes a stick and in modern times often a broom) and a sack. They are sometimes dressed in black rags, bearing a black face and unruly black hair. In many contemporary portrayals the companions look like dark, sinister, or rustic versions of Nicholas himself, with a similar costume but with a darker color scheme.

Knecht Ruprecht

In the folklore of Germany, Knecht Ruprecht, which translates as ''Farmhand Rupert'' or ''Servant Rupert'', is a companion of Saint Nicholas, and possibly the most familiar. Tradition holds that he was a man with a long beard, wearing fur or covered in pea-straw.Benjamin Thorpe
''Northern mythology: comprising the principal popular traditions and superstitions of Scandinavia, north Germany, and the Netherlands''
vol. 3, (E. Lumley, 1852), 146. Knecht Ruprecht sometimes carried a long staff and a bag of ashes, and wore little bells on his clothes.

According to tradition, Knecht Ruprecht asks children whether they know their prayers. If they do, they receive apples, nuts, and gingerbread. If they do not, he beats the children with his bag of ashes. In other (presumably more modern) versions of the story, Knecht Ruprecht gives naughty children gifts such as lumps of coal, sticks, and stones, while well-behaving children receive sweets from Saint Nicholas. He also can be known to give naughty children a switch (stick) in their shoes instead of candy, fruit and nuts, in the German tradition.

''Ruprecht'' was a common name for the devil in GermanyPhyllis Siefker, ''Santa Claus, last of the wild men: the origins and evolution of Saint Nicholas, spanning 50,000 years'' (McFarland, 1997), 82. and Grimm states that " Robin fellow is the same home- sprite whom we in Germany call Knecht Ruprecht and exhibit to children at Christmas..." Knecht Ruprecht first appears in written sources in the 17th century, as a figure in a Nuremberg Christmas procession.

According to Alexander Tille, Knecht Ruprecht represented an archetypal manservant, "and has exactly as much individuality of social rank and as little personal individuality as the ''Junker Hanns'' and the ''Bauer Michel'', the characters representative of country nobility and peasantry respectively."Alexander Tille, ''Yule and Christmas: their place in the Germanic year'' (D. Nutt, 1899), 116. Tille also states that Knecht Ruprecht originally had no connection with Christmastime.

Ruprecht sometimes walks with a limp, because of a childhood injury. Often, his black clothes and dirty face are attributed to the soot he collects as he goes down chimneys. In some of the Ruprecht traditions, the children would be summoned to the door to perform tricks, such as a dance or singing a song to impress upon Santa and Ruprecht that they were indeed good children. Those who performed badly would be beaten soundly by Servant Ruprecht, and those who performed well were given a gift or some treats. Those who performed badly enough or had committed other misdeeds throughout the year were put into Ruprecht's sack and taken away, variously to Ruprecht's home in the Black Forest to be consumed later, or to be tossed into a river. In other versions the children must be asleep, and would awake to find their shoes filled with either sweets, coal, or in some cases a stick.

Krampus

''Krampus'' is a terrifying figure found in parts of Austria, Bavaria, South Tyrol, Slovenia, and Croatia, most probably originating in the Pre-Christian Alpine traditions. In Tyrol, he is also called "Tuifl".Taylor, Alan. "Krampus: Saint Nicholas' Dark Companion", ''The Atlantic'', December 3, 2013
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The Feast of Saint Nicholas is celebrated in parts of Europe on December 6. On the preceding evening, ', the wicked hairy devil appears on the streets. He sometimes accompanies St. Nicholas. However, Krampus will at times be on his own, visiting homes and businesses. Saint Nicholas dispenses gifts, while Krampus supplies coal and bundles of birch branches.

Europeans have been exchanging ''Krampuskarten'', greeting cards featuring Krampus, since the 1800s. A ''Krampuslauf'' is a run of celebrants dressed as the beast, and is still quite popular, many of the participants fortified with ''schnapps''. Over 1200 "Krampus" gather in Schladming, Styria from all over Austria wearing goat-hair costumes and carved masks, carrying bundles of sticks used as switches and swinging cowbells to warn of their approach. In the past few decades village Krampus associations parade without St. Nicholas at Krampus events throughout late November and early December.

In 2011, National Public Radio helped advertise the formation of a ''Krampuslauf'' by Krampus enthusiasts in Philadelphia.

Belsnickel

Belsnickel is a companion of Saint Nicholas in the Palatinate (Pfalz), Germany. Belsnickel is a man wearing fur which covers his entire body, and he sometimes wears a mask with a long tongue. He is a rather scary creature who visits children at Christmas time and delivers socks or shoes full of candy, but if the children were not good, they will find coal in their stockings instead.

In parts of the United States in the 19th century, "Pelznickel" traditions were maintained for a time among immigrants at least as far west as the US state of Indiana. Today, remnants of this tradition remain, known as the ''Belsnickel'', especially in Pennsylvania.

A first-hand 19th-century account of the "Beltznickle" tradition in Allegany County, Maryland, can be found in ''Brown's Miscellaneous Writings'', a collection of essays by Jacob Brown (born 1824). Writing of a period around 1830, Brown says, "we did not hear of" Santa Claus. Instead, the tradition called for a visit by a different character altogether:

On the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, a Christmas tradition known as Belsnickling occurs, where, similar to mummering, people go from house to house within the communities dressed in multiple layers of clothing and with scarves around their faces to conceal their identity. These people are then given food and drinks (usually rum or eggnog) until their identities are guessed, and then they're off to the next house.

Zwarte Piet (Black Pete)

''Zwarte Piet'' (, , meaning father whipper) is the companion of Saint Nicholas () in the folklore of the Low Countries. The character first appeared in his current form in an 1850 book by Jan Schenkman and is commonly depicted as a blackamoor. Traditionally Zwarte Piet is said to be black because he is a Moor from Spain. Participants portraying Zwarte Piet typically wear blackface make-up, by painting their faces black, wearing exaggerated red lipstick, and a "nappy" or "kinky" wig, as well as colorful Renaissance attire and gold earrings. The character has become a reoccurring subject of controversy, especially in the Netherlands, for its perceived cultural and ethnic insensitivity. Historically, Zwarte Piet is referred to as a servant, not a companion.

Like Knecht Ruprecht, he was traditionally the one punishing ill-behaved children by beating them with a birch rod or even taking them back to Spain in a sack he carried (which on arrival contained the gifts for the good children). However, in the 20th century these punishments were abolished and Zwarte Piet became a friendly character, although the punishments can still be heard in Sinterklaas songs.

See also

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Notes

Further reading

*Müller, Felix / Müller, Ulrich: Percht und Krampus, Kramperl und Schiach-Perchten. In: Müller, Ulrich / Wunderlich, Werner (Hrsg.): Mittelalter-Mythen 2. Dämonen-Monster-Fabelwesen. St. Gallen 1999, pages 449–460.
*Laity, K. A.: When Little Joe the Krampus Met. Wombat's World Publishing, 2003.

External links

*Felix und Ulrich Müller – Percht und Krampus, Kramperl und Schiach-Perchten
''Scientific text on the tradition of Krampus in the region of Salzburg – includes a lively description of the fascination of being a Krampus – text written in 1997 and published in 1999''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Companions Of Saint Nicholas

Christmas characters
Christian folklore
Folk saints
Santa's helpers
Saint Nicholas
Household deities