Krampus

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I just saw this film, which was recommended to me as a good horror film to add to my Halloween viewing. Ironic that it concerns a Christmas monster. I enjoyed the film, and understand that in German speaking countries the character will typically accompany St Nick in order to whip bad children.

This got me thinking to the origin of this character and how it may actually play into the modern Santa myth. I havnt researched this, its just my hypothesis, but such a character may be the actual reason for milk and cookies for Santa (placating the beast, like putting out treats on Halloween for the spirits--eventually morphing into trick or treating), as well as the "You better not pout, you better not cry" part of the Santa myth.

What are his far back origins? I'm thinking a Pagan god to whom blood sacrifices were made on the Winter Solstice--probably children. After central Europe was Christinized he was tamed and put in chains by Christian saints, now relegated to the job of disciplining the wicked.

I never once thought about the milk and cookies angle, but who knows, you might have a point.
While Krampus and Pan might have had common origin in the remote reaches of prehistory, more likely Krampus had had origins in the Celtic tribes of the Alpine regions who in later historic times had been absorbed by incoming Germans from the north.