The Chrismologist: Christmas gifts

Showing posts with label Christmas gifts. Show all posts

The Krampus Kalendar: K is for KRAMPUS

Wednesday, 11 December 2019

In the twenty-first century, we have become so used to the idea of Santa bringing gifts to good little boys and girls on Christmas Eve it is easy to forget that not so long ago, bad little boys and girls were likewise punished.

In the wild heartlands of Europe such legends are not so easily forgotten, and so it is that in countries such as Austria and Hungary, on 5 December, communities remember Krampus, a demonic anti-Santa who accompanies St. Nicholas during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children.

In the Alpine regions, traditionally young men dress up as the Krampus and roam the streets, frightening children and women with rusty chains and clanging bells. In some rural areas the tradition goes so far as to include the birching of young girls!

Images of Krampus usually show him with a basket on his back, used to carry away bad children and dump them into the pits of Hell. The name Krampus itself originates from the Old High German word krampen, meaning ‘claw’.

So when the chubby, cheery fellow with the bulging sack of presents asks if you've been good or bad, you had better have been good, for goodness sake…

Krampus is the Big Bad of both the gamebook 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas and the roleplaying game 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas, which is currently funding on Kickstarter.

To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts today!

The book is also available in the United States as Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas.

Gruss vom Krampus!

Thursday, 5 December 2019

Today is 5th December, which means that this evening is Krampusnacht, the night when the Christmas Devil stalks the streets of Austrian and German mountain settlements, searching for naughty children to whip with his birch switch and carry away to hell in his wicker basket.

Krampusnacht feels more like Halloween than Christmas. To mark this occasion in the winter calendar, men dressed as Krampus drink alcohol, run through the streets, and frighten children. Often, they chase delinquent children around and actually hit them with sticks! The Krampus costume itself traditionally consists of a hand-carved wooden mask and a suit made from sheep or goat skin. Cowbells are worn around the wearer’s hips.

Of course, Krampus is the villain of 'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas (which is accepting reviews on Amazon now), but he is also the Big Bad of 'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas, which needs some love on Kickstarter right now.

Don't forget to pledge your support before midnight, to benefit from the Early Bird rewards on offer.

And it's not too late to send some Krampus Kards this Christmas. If you need some more, they can be purchased from the ACE Gamebooks Etsy shop here.

What's the most unwanted Christmas gift this year?

Thursday, 29 December 2011

The X Factor winners' single, that's what!

Little Mix’s single Cannonball (a cover of the Damien Rice song) has sunk like its namesake.

According to a poll by the British Heart Foundation, asking people to reveal their least wanted Christmas present, twenty-five per cent of those surveyed said the X Factor 2011 winners’ single was the gift they’d least like to receive.

Despite winning this year’s X Factor, Little Mix sold only 210,000 copies of their song during its first week of release. While final figures will be higher, the group look set to record the second lowest sales of a winner's single since The X Factor's inaugural year, 2004, when Steve Brookstein shifted just 128,000 copies of Against All Odds.

Little Mix also have the dubious honour of being only the third X Factor winners not to claim the Christmas number one spot. They were outsold by five-to-one by The Military Wives Choir. Go, Gareth!

U is for Unprepared

Friday, 23 December 2011

So, with Christmas only two days away, are you ready for the big day yet? No? Me neither!

But before you dash off to the local garage to buy that special someone another chocolate orange, bear in mind that if you've already left your Christmas shopping a little late, you risk paying 50% more than those people who... how shall we put it?... a little better organised.

Those who were out buying gifts before December 17 spent, on average, £37.28 on each item, compared to £54.37 shelled out the following week.

Anyway, on that sobering note, I must dash! That box of Matchsticks isn't going to wrap itself!

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You will find many other such tasty morsels of information in my book What is Myrrh Anyway?- and its American counterpart Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas.