The nightmare before Christmas
No, I’m not talking about the current economic meltdown. It turns out that Bavaria has some interesting Christmas customs:
The gallery of Bavarian Christmas photos explains:
The troll-like Perchten or Krampus emerge when it gets dark. The gnarled and gruesome figures stomp through the Christmas markets of Bavaria, scaring children and sometimes even give women a spanking.
Cool! Here are two more comments from the gallery:
Viewed by light the Perchten don’t look all that scary, but some people still think their appearances may scar little children for life.
Is that the point?
The Perchten/Krampus tradition is growing more and more across the country and often is accompanied by a lot of alcohol these days.
Not a surprise, as Dave Barry would say (hat tip to his blog for the link). Be sure to look at the whole gallery; the Perchta above is one of the milder examples. ..bruce w..
Category: Humor, Main, Photography
About the Author (Author Profile)
Webster is Principal and Founder at Bruce F. Webster & Associates, as well as an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at Brigham Young University. He works with organizations to help them with troubled or failed information technology (IT) projects. He has also worked in several dozen legal cases as a consultant and as a testifying expert, both in the United States and Japan. He can be reached at bwebster@bfwa.com, or you can follow him on Twitter as @bfwebster.Subscribe
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