![]() ![]() According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, some historians maintain that they are the same person even so, the character seems to have clearly split around the time that the Pennsylvania Dutch communities were being established in North America in the 1700s. Krampus goes back to sometime between the 4th and 9th centuries, though Saint Nicholas became popular in Germany around the 11th century, and Krampus seems to have taken until the 17th century to be fully integrated into the Saint Nicholas legend.īy contrast, both Knecht Ruprecht (from northern Germany) and Belsnickel (hailing from the Palatine region of southwestern Germany) are human men dressed in coats or rags. Neither of these figures should be confused with the demonic Krampus, a much older Austrian companion of Saint Nicholas from a pre-Christian Alpine tradition. Varying folktales describe how each would ask children if they were naughty or nice, with the latter getting cakes and candies, and the former getting a switch across the back for their behavior. While Saint Nicholas is known for rewarding good children, the little ones feared Knecht Ruprecht and Belsnickel, because both knew exactly how to root out the naughty children. Jacob Grimm compared him to a kobold or house-elf, yet the stories describe him as a human. Belsnickel’s name is a combination of belzen (German for “pelt,” which could describe furs and/or walloping) and Nickel, a nickname for the German Nikolaus.īelsnickel may have been based on an earlier folkloric figure, Knecht Ruprecht, a servant of Saint Nicholas who first appeared in written records in the 17th century as well as in the Brothers Grimm’s works. But while Belsnickel, with his odd garb and anti-Claus vendetta, might initially seem not to fit into The Christmas Chronicles 2, the character is actually rooted in Yuletide tradition.Īccording to German folklore that dates back to at least the 18th century, Belsnickel is a foil of sorts to Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus: a disheveled man dressed in tattered furs and dirty clothes, often wearing a mask with a long tongue and carrying a switch, he visits homes a few weeks before Christmas to check up on children’s behavior. While Netflix’s 2018 holiday film, The Christmas Chronicles, didn’t have a clear antagonist-it was more about saving Christmas-the 2020 sequel pits Santa Claus ( Kurt Russell) against an elfin protégé-turned-human-rival, Belsnickel (Julian Dennison). ![]()
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