The Real Story Behind Krampus: The Christmas Demon

In this video from our YouTube channel (click here to subscribe), we take a look at the real story behind Krampus, the Christmas Demon. “May Krampus not take your child away in a basket!” To make sure you don’t miss out on many more videos like this, be sure and subscribe to our new daily channel!

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11 comments

  • “… the Christmas Demon”
    Excuse my frankness, but … what a stupid title for an entry at “Today I Found Out”!

    Since the word, “Christmas,” comes from “Christ” [from the Greek for [Jesus,] the Messiah/Anointed One] and “Mass” [the sacred “divine liturgy” celebrated by Catholic and Orthodox priests for almost 2,000 years] … the word, “demon,” is totally out of place. The almost indescribable sacredness of the first word is totally incompatible with the ghastly profaneness of the second word.

    This is the rare (maybe unique) case in which I would approve of the replacement of the word, “Christmas,” with something more appropriate. In other words, while it is wrong (and greatly insulting to genuine Christians) to speak of a “holiday tree” rather than a “Christmas tree,” it would be much appreciated by genuine Christians if TIFO would refer to Krampus as something like “the winter devil” rather than “the Christmas demon.” In fact, it would be even better if this whole page (and the YouTube clip) were deleted, because the topic is so sickeningly stupid and unhelpful to human beings today.

    • That might be the most ignorant thing I’ve ever read. Damn, Gecik!

    • I’m sorry to say this to you but your Christmas as you say has nothing to do with Christian’s in anyway shape or form. If you look back and do some research you will see that Christmas was and still is a Pagan holiday that the Christian’s and Catholic church remade to their liking. this holiday dates much farther then most know going back as far as and before the iron age. the earliest know n reference to this dates back to 200 BCE and even older then that is the description comes from Julius Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Gallico 50s BCE. So for you to say “while it is wrong (and greatly insulting to genuine Christians) to speak of a “holiday tree” rather than a “Christmas tree,” it would be much appreciated by genuine Christians if TIFO would refer to Krampus as something like “the winter devil” rather than “the Christmas demon.” is wrong in of it self because the history go back a lot farther then you know. and as a true Christian as you claim to be you should look deeper into you passed and see that most of your holidays are taken from pagan beliefs. whether you choose to believe this or not just remember that there is a passed before your Christian beliefs came to be and you should do a little bit more research before posting on forms such as this.
      Now to make it clear i’m not bashing Christian’s i’m a firm believer in to each their own no matter you’re beliefs. Just know what you are talking about before you says something.
      Thank you and have a Good Day

    • For a “genuine Christian,” you’re not very familiar with your chosen faith. The custom of bringing a live tree into one’s dwelling and hanging lights from it is not a Christian one. It’s a quite old pagan custom that predates Christianity.

      Because evergreens remained green throughout the winter, pagan peoples believed them to be magical. They hung evergreen boughs over doors and windows to ward off evil spirits, and decorated live evergreens with candles and ornaments to celebrate the winter solstice, the point at which days would gradually become longer, the return of the light.

      It wasn’t until the 16th Century that Christians began displaying the Yule tree, and it went in and out of favor with various branches of Christianity as some sects were well aware of its pagan roots. Puritans in early American thought them a mockery, and they were declared illegal for a time. They didn’t become popular until the late 19th Century in the US.

      If you currently have a Yule tree in your home, you are practicing pagan sympathetic magic, as the tree is a tribute to the pagan sun god’s return.

      N.B. There are no “Christmas trees” in the Bible.

  • Whether we like it or not, Christmas holds a holy meaning for we Christians, and a secular meaning for everyone else. One could argue that “Christmas Tree” is just as offensive, since it not only doesn’t appear in the Bible, but the Bible forbids decorated trees.

    Likewise, Santa is a Christmas entity that has no Christian meaning (other than it was based on a saint originally).

    As a Christian, I did find the Krampus article interesting because I’d never heard of it before.

    Personally, I think intent should have some baring on whether we get offended by something or not. I hardly think TIFO meant any offense. I, of course, have no standing to speak for TIFO, but my sense is they are about information, not agenda.

    Peace on Earth; Goodwill toward All.

    • The mid-winter holiday is not the exclusive property of Christians, and it certainly has a holy meaning for other religions. Pagans have celebrated Yule for millennia. The Jewish faith celebrates Hanukkah. Muslims celebrate Ramadan.

      If anyone should be offended, it’s non-Christians who get Christmas shoved down their throats by overzealous, self-centered Christians who think that religious freedom means forcing others to comply with their beliefs. (I’m not saying you are such a Christian, mind you.) The spirit of the season would mandate recognizing that other faiths have their own traditions, would it not?

      In that spirit, I wish you and yours a joyous holiday season and a healthy and happy new year! As for me, I’m celebrating the return of the light. 🙂

  • It’s very interesting, I’ve not heard of this before my 22 year old son has told me he’s going to see it. For me J.F Gecik says it very succinctly and one wonders how the message of Christ is almost lost in being almost relegated to another work of seasonal fiction. Were this type of fiction portrayed in another religious setting other than Christianity, there would I am sure be a massive outcry, mainly because they live their religions on a daily basis. We seem to accept anything that erodes our faith, customs and ridicules our tradition values. In this case in the name of entertainment.
    There of course is a much darker side to this and whilst people will possibly not attend church this Christmas, millions of dollars will be made by people going out of their way to see this acceptably named version of satan and paying in effect, homage for 90 minutes, without even realising what they are doing.
    Award ceremonies, console games, films, posters, art and even childrens colouring books are all conditioning us to accept demons and the darker side of things as seemingly normal, this film appears to try to hijack Christmas and send it off in another direction.

  • Interesting! I had not heard of Krampus before! Thanks much for posting – always fun to learn new things.

  • How bizarre. Why, oh why, would parents want to teach their children about an imaginary creature so terrifying? Real life has enough actual terrors without making up stuff like this. I can only wonder how many poor little kids have had nightmares about this guy over the centuries.

  • Yah all arguing n fighting on issues not really relevant to GOD; yah talk about it been in d Bible or not; what about things in the Bible GOD want us to do and follow, do u any of u really adhere to it,who obeys GOD help help wants among yah all? I need an answer….not a spokesman for GOD nor can I really say whats on GOD’s mind but I’m sure he will proud early Christians had to device means of killing pagan worship from attracting Christians into idolatry acts thru wisdom GOD have deposited in all humans…obey GOD’s law n forget abt d talk of ‘Christmas’ either it’s good or bad….for those who celebrate it, they know n enjoy d joy n blessings attached to it …..obey GOD laws u can see!!!!