Krampus arrives in Arabba

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On the night of 5 December, Saint Nicholas arrives, who visits all the children with gifts.
Traditionally he is accompanied by angels, who help him, but with him there are also devils if the children have not been so good. The devils wander wherever they like, in fact they can be met on 7th December in the square in Arabba to check that young and old behave properly. When there is no St Nicholas these creatures are more mischievous, so care must be taken.

The Krampus are wild and ferocious figures, they are half-man, half-goat, their faces usually covered with scary masks, they wear large furs and threadbare clothes. They are very noisy with their cowbells and cries.

#SavetheDate: Saturday 7th December 2024 after 6.45pm in the centre of Arabba

Curiosities
The origin of the name Krampus has several meanings: from the German Kramp: claw, or from the Bavarian Krampn: dead. In South Tyrol they are also called Teufel: devil.
There is a tendency to associate this custom with Celtic pagan rites, with the struggle between good and evil depicted in the Christian religion by St Nicholas and the Krampus, some say instead that it is linked to the winter solstice.