How the Holidays Truly Suck for Some People.

It starts with Halloween, and it's downhill from there. I got tired of opening the door every ten seconds and inadvertently insulting some kid's costume ("Oh! I love your necromancer costume!" "I'm a ballerina." "Oh.") when I was about 25. Hanging a sign on the door that read, "NO CANDY! SORRY!" didn't keep them away, so I started sitting a bowl of candy outside and refilling it between beers. I had no compunction about destroying someone's oral hygiene or aiding someone's nascent diabetes mellitus type 2 if they or their parents can't read a damn sign.

Turkey Day is a non-starter for me, and now my office is nutty for Santa.

We have a Live Tree. It's not everyone's Live Tree. It is My Team's Live Tree, wonderfully donated by someone who needed to offload a tree that wouldn't sell. We are encouraged to decorate said Live Tree, so I'm going to put something on it. Maybe a lump of coal...

We are also having an Ugly Holiday Sweater contest. Uh, huh. We are. I will be wearing my Krampus shirt if it comes in time. (Thanks, Susan I/S!) USPS tracking puts it somewhere in Florida.

Meanwhile, I am educating my team on the wonderfulness of Krampus and how the Universe Needs Balance. If they are going to get all jolly, they need to see the dirty underbelly of Yuletide cheer and embrace it as the other half of a whole. You can't have St. Nick without Damned Krampus.

I am looking for people to join The Krampus Soldiers -- converts, if you will. I will also be holding Story Time for my coworkers' children where we will reenact salient scenes from The Brothers Grimm fairy tales as an effort to keep Krampus at bay. It's the least I can do.

I've just educated myself on Krampus. Thank you.

linked to this: http://6dollarshirts.com/t-shirts/Merry-Krampus-T-Shirt-p-12207.html

and this: http://www.krampus.com/who-is-krampus.php

Yep, yep, yep.

OH! OH! Thank you guys! Child who always buys weird T shirts has never heard of this one. Its exactly what I needed! (she's taken to buying her own Christmas presents...here Mom, you gave me this (because you are such a crappy Christmas present person) but this...THIS she will LOVE!!

The Krampus is a serious holiday tradition with my family. Ever since we discovered it a few years back.

There is a German restaurant in our town, and I have been trying to get them to enter a Krampus into the town Christmas parade. By which I mean I bring it up with the manager the two times a year I eat there.

Yeah. I'm telling people to google Krampus. They think I'm making it up. I'll send out a blast email to the team.

I just finished reading Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom

It was a really good book.Heres the Amazon link
http://www.amazon.com/Krampus-The-Yule-Lord-Brom/dp/006209565X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386913269&sr=8-1&keywords=Krampus+yule+lord

Thank you!

No problem. I have also read The Child Thief, by the same author.

Its a re imagining of the Peter Pan Story.

His style is rather dark, but it is very compelling and thought provoking.

Also, he does use rather crude language, just a warning.

But the Krampus book was no disappointment. The characters are very realistic and you feel for them.

Ho! Ho! HO!

Oh yes...I did first find out about Krampus on "Supernatural" several years back.

http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/index.php?title=Krampus

I love freakish stuff.

endlessly searching for...sex

My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult - Final Blindness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Boy0gVTRx0

(This is the first thing I thought of after hearing about Krampus...)

I first met Krampus when I was a young kid in Vienna. He and St Nikolaus came on the first day of Christmas. He brought the stones (lump of coal) to the badies, and St Nick brought candy to the goodies. The christchild came on Christmas with all the toys.

I was pretty scared of old Krampus until my folks assured me that it was just a silly "Austrian" tradition. Apparently SANTA didn't fail to visit us Americans even though we lived abroad.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2013 07:37AM by PapaKen.

Not to be confused with E Clampus Vitus...


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_Clampus_Vitus


Several of my rowdy friends want me to join.

I am afraid of the hazing/initiation rituals.


The Clampers set many of the Historical Plaques around California.

I've got a Clamper hubby, and Clamper friends. They are a hoot, and they all love it. Unfortunately, DH can't participate now that we don't live in CA, but all the friends still do.

Love it! Thanks for educating us. I'll still decorate for Christmas, too, though. Well, I already did. Christmas is much more enjoyable NOW that I don't have to worry about keeping the Christ in Christmas. I just celebrate.

http://www.nerve.com/news/tv/heres-anthony-bourdains-a-krampus-carol-that-was-banned-by-the-travel-channel

Keep the cramp in Krampus!

I found Krampus a few years ago and I love that guy. Brings a little balance to the holiday.

incidentally, this will be the subject of one of the new Grimm episodes coming on tonight. Anyone else watching tonight?

I want an excuse to dress like shagrath and scare people

You know I luv ya Beth, but this thing would have scared the you-know-what out of me as a kid! I took everything so literally, I probably would have thought it was as real as I thought Santa and Jesus were ;)

TG

At a party I went to last Sunday, we had Krampus Carolers.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/13/2013 03:08PM by adoylelb.

Both the Nazis and the Catholics have tried to destroy the Krampus legend. So if you don't celebrate the Krampus, Hitler and Pope Benedict smile on you, though I think the new guy is probably cool with the whole idea. I am basing that last assumption on good feelings, which is the best kind of proof.

http://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/12/10_fun_facts_about_krampus_the_christmas_demon_1.php?page=2

It's like the Chupacabra going on a ride-along with Santa. Cool!

I work with a sweet guy. We have ninja arguments (I'll explain later if you want), and I knew he used to be a preacher. And he's a Forever Blusher. How can you not like that?

Wayyull, we were talking about The Seattle Freeze (i.e. making friends here it hard), and he told me he was my friend. I said, "Well, it's best you know I'm an atheist, but I'm spreading The Good News of Krampus. Will you still be my friend?"

;-)

What's interesting to me is that he was saying that when he runs into members of his former church/outreach/whateverthefuck group, THEY SHUN HIM! I was like, "Dude. That's the love of Christ. Krampus already hates you from the get go. Come with me..."

And yeah, TG, it would have loosened my bowels as well.

I'm on the damn bus, so I can't see who said what but:

1. I will check out the Clampers.
2. I bought my son a shirt, too.
3. I will check out the other book
4. I don't have TV, but I'll find the Grimm show when I get home
5. I like the chupracaba (sp?) twist
6. I have to look up that other devil thingy someone mentioned
7. I can't wait to click on your links (and get off this damn bus)

you can't have st. nick without black pete.

The other part of the legend I love about Krampus? He punishes both naughty children, and adult virgins! Or in some versions, adults who are way too prudish. Okay, by adults, I should actually say women, but there is no reason we can't expand the glory of Krampus to cover both genders equally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p1JYvV178E

Krampus Carol.