After spending the last two Christmas seasons in more exotic locales (Brazilian beaches and Tibet), we’re staying around our current home in Eastern Switzerland for Christmas Day 2014. Although it’s been an unseasonably warm winter thus far without snow 740 m above sea level in our home of St. Gallen, we’ve visited several Christmas markets over the past few weeks as well as a few other Christmas traditions, bringing us closer to the feeling of the holiday season.
Christmas in Austria
Tim Burton would be proud of the Austrians. Each year in early December
around St. Nicholas Day, not only St. Nicholas appears but also his feared nemesis, Krampus. Krampus brings whippings rather than gifts and may grab a child or two to throw in his basket for extra torment. Chocolate and greeting card companies have now corporatized Krampus to the equivalency of Santa Claus, but the festivities were a must for our first Christmas in German speaking Europe. In many towns throughout Austria, Krampus Laufen (Krampus Runs) are organized to allow Krampus clubs to parade through the streets and offer scares. We attended two of the more organized runs in Klagenfurt and Graz. Frequent targets of Krampus include young children, attractive young women and friends of teen boys stuck near the front of the crowd while their friends taunt Krampi safely behind. Photos of our Krampus Laufen experiences can be found below.
Christmas in Switzerland
Traditions in Switzerland related to Santa Claus vary from canton to canton as much as any other subject. We chose Wil, a town between St. Gallen and Zurich, to witness this year’s St. Nicholas Day festivities. In this area of Switzerland, St. Nicholas and his dark hooded companion, Knecht Ruprecht, arrive as a pair. Locals say that both were once a feared pair who would beat children for their naughty deeds of the past year. In some parts of Switzerland, the darker clothed companion, also sometimes referred to as Samichlaus’ partner Schmutzli, still plays this role.
Today in Wil, however, both are considered amiable and tend to focus more on what children did right over the past year, encouraging them to continue to listen to their parents. On St. Nicholas Day at exactly 3 pm in Wil, church bells ring and a stream of pairs of these two characters, forming the St. Nikolaus Gruppe Wil, emerge from the main church. Children eagerly await, talk to the pair, and then receive a small sweet. Those hoping to someday act as St. Nikolaus must first spend several years as Knecht Ruprecht. Only when one St. Nikolaus departs does a Knecht Ruprecht have the chance of being promoted to the lead role.
Christmas in Germany
Thought we haven’t had the opportunity to spend much time in Germany this holiday season, we were able to check out the Christmas Market in Konstanz across the Bodensee from St. Gallen. From Monica’s time there when she was just babe, we know that this time of year is full of festivity there. We hope to get to more Christmas Markets in the country next year, like Nuremberg’s that is known worldwide.
Christmas Markets
With gluhwein and other warm drinks flowing and an array of trinkets and fine
arts gifts in vendor stalls, Christmas markets always draw a huge crowd. We chose the large market in Salzburg as our first experience and we’ve now visited a few others, including one only a couple of blocks from where we live. The larger markets stay open from late November to late December, becoming the town’s main meeting point for a month. Smaller towns may open a market for only one weekend or even a single day.
Photos from Krampus Laufen (Krampus Run) in Klagenfurt, Austria
Krampus Laufen in Graz, Austria
Salzburg Christmas Market
St. Nicholas Day in Wil, Switzerland
Christmas Market in Konstanz, Germany
-Chris
