'Buttnmandl and Krampus'
Usually wrapped from head to toe in hand-threshed straw, the Buttnmandl or Krampus run noisily from home to home and through each community during the pre-Christmas season. Their heads covered with a fur mask and a long red tongue adding to their frightening appearance, they clank the large cowbells attached to their backs weighing up to a total of 45 pounds.
'Buttnmandl'
Often, instead of straw, these young men are clad in fur from head to toe as they accompany their straw brothers, all the while flicking switches at the legs of young girls in a sign of fertility. Their mission is also to chase away evil spirits at the dark time of year (near the winter solstice) and to awaken Mother Nature slumbering deep under the hard frozen ground.
The traditions related to St. Nicholas originated in France during the middle ages and spread throughout Europe. Since then, the running of the Buttnmandl and Krampus from door to door in the Berchtesgadener Land has been closely associated with 'St. Nick's' visit - in fact, in the Berchtesgaden area you'll never see one without the other.
In the Winkl area, an angel is seen at St. Nicholas' side, carrying gifts for the children. A custom in Loipl is that, after St. Nicholas has handed out the presents, the living room of one of the farms is always 'cleared out': the inhabitants, as well as the furnishings, are taken outside. This custom, like so many others, is said to drive the evil spirits away.
Wednesday, 08. October 2008
