What’s worse than having a birthday during the Christmas holidays? If you live in Greece and your birthday falls between Christmas and New Year’s Day you are ‘feast-blasted’ which is a fancy word for predestined to become a vampire. A callicantzaros is a Greek vampire who tears his victims apart with long fingernails. He can only indulge in his vampire ways during the twelve days of Christmas. Children born during this time are looked upon with fear because they are likely to become creatures who roam the darkness and plague other children unfortunate enough to be born at Christmastime. When American Christmas babies complain that one gift has to do double duty because their birthday is too close to Christmas, make sure to remind them that the consequences of such an untimely birth could be far worse.

Posted by: Kate Jonez

Not all of Santa’s helpers are cute and friendly. In Austria Saint Nicholas forgoes elves in favor of a creature that really gets the job of scaring children done – the Krampus.  The Krampus is a horned cloven hoofed demon with sharp claws and glowing red eyes. He wears chains and bells around his neck. The Krampus is able to spot bad children even when St Nicholas can’t. He is happy to point them out and make sure that Saint Nicholas passes them by. He’s also famous for stealing back the gifts that St. Nick has left. The Krampus carries a birch whip. While he will whip any child, he prefers young girls. Austrian girls are notoriously evil and it’s the Krampus’ custom is to beat them just in case. The Krampus carries bad children off to hell, or if he’s in a hurry he’ll drag them out in to the woods and eat them. Thank you Krampus for putting the fear back in Christmas where it belongs.

Posted by: Kate Jonez