The Christmas Krampus and
The Evolution of Santa Claus

The Christmas Krampus and
The Evolution of Santa Claus

The modern commercialized Santa Claus
has evolved into what he is today. 
Over the years he has absorbed the
evil Krampus that used to accompany
him on his December gift-giving Tours.

If we look real hard, we can still see
and feel the remnants of the lost link
to the pagan past of this modern Christmas
celebration.

"In the English-speaking countries,
we combined Santa and his helpers
(Krampus and black peter) into a
composite which arrives at Christmas
time to stuff the stockings and
reward children who have been naughty
and nice.  But the pagan history
shows that St. Nicholas is a vastly
more complex being..."
-THE ANTINOOPOLIS GAYZETTE
   MEET SANTA'S HELPERS -
 KRAMPUS AND ANTINOUS/APOLLO

"this "Yuletide" spirit-being
is a duality.  Part of him is
the kindly priest in flowing robes
and part of him is the evil fiend
with slashing teeth and claws."
-THE ANTINOOPOLIS GAYZETTE
   MEET SANTA'S HELPERS -
 KRAMPUS AND ANTINOUS/APOLLO

"What may surprise you is that
Santa Claus has not always been
a jolly ole elf, or even human.
In fact, he has been depicted
as an evil gnome as well as a goat."
-Will the Real Santa Claus
  Please Stand Up?
The Many Faces of Santa
Denise Alvarado

"Ol Saint Nick as it turns out
has a bunch of demonic buddies.
You wouldn't know it from the
Christian American Coca Cola
interpretation of Christmas
but there's some really disturbing
stories surrounding that special
time of the year..."
-Monster Brains Presents..
     Krampus!
 Aeron Alfrey - 12/08/07

The Evolution of Santa Claus

In the Nordic Countries
Santa continued to evolve by
absorbing the Krampus creature

In the above depiction of the Norse god, Thor,
we can see that he resembles Santa Claus,
while at the same time, he features the coarse
and cruel features of Krampus including  the
switches and sticks in his back pack.
Also note the horns displayed on his new
companion - The deer.

Krampus was often depicted as being
covered with Fur all over his body.
Notice the santa figure above is also
covered with fur.

"the old stories of the Wildmen are
interwoven into those of Santa Claus. 
The Wildman of the Middle Ages
was described as a bearded large man
whose body was covered in thick, matted
hair.  His traditional beast of burden
was the reindeer."
-Santa is a Wildman
 by Loren Coleman

The Evolution of Santa Claus

THE  WILD  MAN  OF  CHRISTMAS

The Wild Man of Christmas

In the depiction above we see a further evolution
of Santa as he continues to absorb Krampus from
the tradition roots of the pagan December Holiday.

"in the southwestern alpine part of Bavaria,
the tradition of the "Wilde Mann" (wild man)
is kept alive.    He is described exactly like
Krampus.  In the Alpine regions "the Krampus"
is represented by a demon incubus - the Companion
of Saint Nicholas in many European traditions."
-Paganism in the Eastern Alps
Absolute Astronomy
Exploring the universe of knowledge

"The offspring of the "Wild Man"
is the  precursor of "Father Christmas".
-The Last Wild Man
 by PHYLLIS SIEFKER
 FT 118 - January 2000
 Fortean Times

"As we watch this portly figure (of Santa)
entice us with baubles (of gifts), we are
witnessing the last remnant of the oldest
sacred figure that exists, for Santa's past
is full of ancient mysteries, with a depth
few imagined. In the Middle Ages he was
a Wild Man, a beast-man. In the Sixth
Century, he was a beast-god so powerful
that Pope Gregory the Great chose him
to be Christianity's poster child for evil –
the cloven-hoofed, goatish devil figure
that persists even today.  For millennia
before that, he was worshiped as a god."
-The Last Wild Man
 by PHYLLIS SIEFKER
 FT 118 - January 2000
 Fortean Times

"the old stories of the Wildmen are interwoven
into those of Santa Claus.  The Wildman of the
Middle Ages was described as a bearded large
man whose body was covered in thick, matted hair.
 His traditional beast of burden was the reindeer."
-Santa is a Wildman
 by Loren Coleman

"Even Father Christmas, who was often
shown wreathed in ivy in early depictions,
has been suggested as a similar woodland
spirit as the green man (or wild man)."
--Siefker, Phyllis (February 1997).
Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men:
The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas
McFarland & Co Inc. ISBN 0786402466 

"The Green Man would appear to be pagan,
perhaps a fertility figure or a nature spirit,
similar to the the wild man of the woods.
Rather than alienate their new converts,
early Christian missionaries would often
adopt and adapt local gods, sometimes
turning them into obscure saints."
-- Dufourcq, Albert (1903).
La Christianisation des Foules.
Paris: Bloud et cie. pp. 44 et sec. ,
quoted in Wilson, Stephen (1983).
Saints and their cults.
Cambridge University Press. p. 96.
ISBN 9780521311816. 

THE  EVOLUTION  OF  SANTA  CLAUS

"History shows us that the Christians
moved their holiest day to the Winter
Solstice in a futile attempt to replace
the irrepressible heathen winter celebration
and its pagan beliefs which carry on today
even in so-called Christian homes."
-The Book Beat Shop
Krampus; The New Loki 4/12/08
Cary Loren for the Book Beat

"Santa Claus and the Krampus evolved
from the same pagan archetype  - from
whence came the Wild Man and the horned
Devil, all central figures in the mythology
of pre-Christian Europe."
-The Book Beat Shop
Krampus; The New Loki 4/12/08
Cary Loren for the Book Beat

"With Christmas ostensibly about Christ,
one must ask why Santa has become the
chief mythic figure of the highest of
Christian holidays.  One must answer:
Santa and alter-ego Krampus continue
to shape human consciousness and his
influence is clearly on the rise."
-The Book Beat Shop
Krampus; The New Loki 4/12/08
Cary Loren for the Book Beat

 The Evolution of Santa Claus

Krampus Hides Behind The Mask

Krampus hides behind the Mask of the Jolly
Old Elf.   He demands respectability for
himself.

The absorption of Krampus into the person
of Santa Claus has been so complete, that
some people do not even see Krampus at all
in their December holiday season.

He may be well hidden, but Krampus is
still there - behind the respectable mask
of the beloved Santa Claus of commercialized
America.  Coca-Cola portrayed a cute
fat man with a jolly smile - in order to
propagate more Holiday sales each year.

"if we look at many of today's customs,
superstitions and celebrations, we can
see much of those Heathen religions
firmly stamped on them. So in that
sense we can say strongly that
heathenism is still with us today,
and is still being practiced, albeit
unknown to most of those who
practice it."
-Anglo-Saxon Heathen Heritage
  by Stuart Alan

"Christianity has never completely
destroyed the popular heathen faith
in the power of the pagan gods. 
The Devil certainly was a real
enough being to a people who still
had memories of Celtic elfs and
fairies."
-The Popular Conception of the Devil
in Chaucer's Day - by Joseph Raben
Hoosier Folklore, Vol. 9, No. 1
(Jan. - Mar., 1950), pp. 13-16
Published by:
Indiana University Press

"The story of St. Nicholas was simply
recycled from those of Pagan gods.  
So you see, the church leaders at
that time were responsible for a
great fraud upon society,  which
has never been corrected to this day,
of both Christ's birthday celebration
and that of Santa Claus."
- Falsehoods of Religion
Foisted on a Gullible Society
 By Eileen T. Waldron
Saturday, November 29, 2003

With the evolution of Santa being
exposed for public view, we are
left to wonder if it is a good thing
to be involved with this holiday ?

^"What harmony can there be
between Christ and the Devil ^{? "
(2Corinthians 6:15)(NLT)-BibleGateway}

"...I will punish those who....
introduce pagan....practices;
And I'll punish all who import
pagan superstitions...."
(Zephaniah 1:7)(MSG)-BibleGateway