Krampus Group Celebrates Bavarian Christmas Folklore At St. Pete Events

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Celebrating a darker side of Christmas, Krampus Verein of Pinellas County hosts its final event of the holiday season Saturday, 6 to 11 p.m., at Bayboro Brewing in St. Petersburg.

The event, Rauhnächte, which means “between the years or in between the years,” takes place between the solar and lunar years in Bavarian culture, Todd Bogner, one of the group’s founders, told Patch.

“In this particular time, it’s about letting go of things that weighed you down in the past year and moving toward the future,” he said.

The ticketed event features fortune tellers, an apothecary, a DJ and a magician.

Krampus Verein launched two years ago at the German-American Society Friendship of Pinellas County in Pinellas Park, founded by a group of friends who were part of a Bayern Munich soccer fan club that met at the now closed Hofbrauhaus beer hall in St. Petersburg.

“In our spirit of trying to be authentic and trying to kind of educate, I don’t like it when I hear people say that Krampus is evil Santa or anti Santa,” Bogner said. “In traditional folklore, Krampus is kind of the righthand man of St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas gives presents to good children and Krampus is for children who are being bad. Really, when you understand it, Krampus is a reinforcement of being good.”

In the central European legend, the Krampus is a half-goat, half-demon creature that punishes children who misbehave around the Christmas holiday, according to Britannica.

It’s a far cry from how Christmas is celebrated in the United States.

“In America, we focus a lot on positive reinforcement, but Krampus is not that,” he said. “Krampus is about being good or else.”

While some liken Krampus with Halloween, Bogner doesn’t agree with the comparison.

“In some ways, it reminds me of Mardi Gras — the revelry of Mardi Gras before Lent,” he said. “In Krampus, you have Christmas coming and Krampushacht the day before St. Nicholas Day. It’s kind of a time to let go a little bit and have fun a little bit before the piousness of Christmas. With the costumes, the bells, the cocktails that go with it, it’s just fun.”

The Krampus Verein events stand out as many of its members wear imported authentic, hand-carved Krampus masks from Austria during their appearances.

“We are different from anything you see out there with a lot of people running around in Amazon latex masks,” Bogner said. “Because we were born out of the German-American club, we try to keep it as authentic as possible.”

He and the group’s other founders knew their Krampus events would be popular, but they weren’t prepared for how many people were eager to attend.

During their first Krampusnacht event, a traditional Alpine celebration on Dec. 5, held last year at the German-American Society, they thought they might have about 400 people come out for the night.

“We had about 970 get through the door,” he said. “This year, we sold out with 1,100 people there.”

They also scheduled additional events this year. In addition to Krampushacht and the upcoming Rauhnächte, the group also hosted Taps & Teufels on Nov. 29 at Green Bench Brewing in St. Petersburg.

The group also hosts Krampus socials throughout the year on the third Friday of every month at the German-American Society.

“We bring the masks so new people can be up close to these Austrian carved masks and talk about the year coming up and different events, as well as previous events and what we can do better,” Bogner said. “We want to continue growing our group and have the full cast of characters. St. Nicholas — we already have one — the angels that accompany him, the basket carrier, Knecht Ruprecht ... and handlers and security. We’re also looking to expand more events to more places.”

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