Fear and fun at Christmas custom - 14th December 2022

St Nicholas Day, the 6th December, is for most children in European countries a joyful time in the festive run-up to Christmas. Saint Nicholas bestows gifts on small children who've behaved throughout the year, leaving small presents under their pillows or coins in their footwear. While obedient children enjoy the fruits of their good behaviour, wayward youngsters receive merely a twig or a lump of coal.

In Bad Mitterndorf, Austria, some children are filled with trepidation. On the eve of Saint Nicholas Day, townsfolk come together to participate in the cultural event of Nikolospiel, where local men don sinister shaggy sheepskin costumes and weighty wooden masks as the wicked 'Krampus'.

Daniela Puercher is spectating as usual.

Daniela Puercher: 'For those who are attending for the first time, it's definitely chilling. It's dark, there's electricity in the air. The atmosphere is special. You hear the bells ringing and then the characters appear. Even with the experience, you are still impressed.'

'The children, of course they are afraid, especially those who have not been good during the year.'

A wintry procession of 130 performers snakes through the streets, headed by 12 intimidating straw-covered silhouettes or 'Schab', who clear a path and purge the way of evil spirits by cracking their whips.

When Saint Nicholas interrogates children on their catechism at each inn, those lucky enough to get the answers right are handed sweets, but those less fortunate are promptly whisked away by the 'Krampus'.

This dramatic ritual has been entertaining local crowds for 150 years without fail, and has now been granted UNESCO heritage status.

The present organiser, Martin Rainer, remains convinced that the custom will carry on through generations to come.

Martin Rainer: 'We in the region are very proud that we have managed to keep this tradition in its original form for all these decades. And we are convinced that with the demand we are already receiving, the next generation will be able to take over without any problems in the coming decades.'