Krampus Night at Holiday Lights

There’ll be a dark holiday market featuring chocolates, decorations, artwork, jewelry, and more. Food and hot beverages will also be available for purchase from Epoch Eats, Tacos el Jerry, and Fool Hardy Coffee.

TICKETS    Tickets are $10/adult   $5 for youth 6-11    Children under 6 FreeOkay, so who – or what – is Krampus?

In Germanic folklore, Krampus is the sketchy, darker counterpart to St Nicholas. They’re actually business partners, in a way. While St Nicholas rewards the good kids with candy and treats, Krampus keeps an eye on the bad kids and deals with them appropriately. He gives the “you better be good for goodness’ sake” to a whole new level.

Worldwide, particularly here in the U.S., Krampus has become a bit of a popular culture icon. He’s appeared in movies and TV shows and in city-wide celebrations featuring “Krampus Parades” and “Krampus (pub) Crawls”.

Think of learning about Krampus as expanding your appreciation of holiday traditions from other cultures. Fun facts:

• His name comes from the German word “Krampen” meaning “claw.”
• He’s celebrated on December 5th, which is also known as “Krampus Naucht.”
• Technically, he’s half goat and half demon.
• He’s a bit of a lush. In some European Krampus events, it’s customary to offer him Schnapps.

While his story leans on the dark side, Krampus affairs are family-friendly events where you can have some light, scary fun. It’s a way to nudge a bit of almost Halloween-type fun into the traditional Christmas season.  So gather your family and friends, step into your favorite Krampus attire and join others at Krampus Night at Holiday Lights.