SAN ANTONIO – Southtown is getting ready to host a Krampus parade this Thursday. Since the event was announced, there have been a lot of questions from San Antonio residents.
KSAT spoke with a professor who teaches modern languages and literature at Trinity University. We wanted to learn about Krampus and what this folk tale means.
Krampus is a half-goat, half-demon-monster that originates from German culture. Dr. Heather Sullivan said it’s connected to Saint Nicholas.
“On Dec. 6, all the children will set out their shoes and get candy from Saint Nicholas, but the older tradition has a dark side,” Dr. Sullivan said.
Krampus comes from the German word “Krallen,” which means claws.
“He looks like this devilish figure. Krampus has horns and claws,” Dr. Sullivan said.
Dr. Sullivan said that Saint Nicholas would reward the good children with candy while Krampus joined him.
“[Krampus] was bound to go with Saint Nicholas to the children, and the bad children would get beaten with a switch. I know, it’s brutal. This is old folk culture,” Dr. Sullivan said.
Dr. Sullivan said the idea of the people dressing up as Krampus is to control the demonic character by facing it.
“Just like with Halloween when our kids wear scary costumes, the idea is not that you become the evil, but that you banish it by confronting it, putting it out there and then you overcome it,” Dr. Sullivan said.
Bob Crittenden Jr., the parade’s grand marshal, sent the following statement to KSAT:
“The city’s first Krampus Parade on Thursday, December 5, is presented by an independent, volunteer group of current and former Southtown residents, and is not affiliated with the King William Association. Attendance is free to spectators. Registered krewe members will be permitted to walk in the parade,” Crittenden said.
Some traditions of Christmas in America are heavily German-inflected, especially in Central Texas, Dr. Sullivan said.
New Braunfels, Gruene, and Boerne are all named after German influences.
“I think it’s hard as an American parent to celebrate Krampus for your kids and I totally get that. But it’s an interesting folk tradition,” Dr. Sullivan said. “As we’ve said, these folk traditions aren’t easily pulled apart.”
The Krampus parade on Dec. 5 is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Blue Star Arts Complex in Southtown and proceed through the King William neighborhood along King William Street.
