What St. Nicholas Day Means in Austria
St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on 6 December, but in Austria the central action happens the evening before, on 5 December, when St. Nicholas makes his visits. St. Nicholas is the patron saint of children, and in Austria he is remembered as a bishop who rewards well-behaved children with gifts while his fearsome companion, the Krampus, punishes the disobedient. The day is bound up with the wider Advent season and with the older Alpine traditions of the Rauhnächte, the "mystical nights" whose number varies regionally between three and twelve and whose name derives from Räuchern (smudging).
St. Nicholas has clear Christian origins, tracing to Saint Nicholas of Myra. In Austrian dialect he is known as "Nikolo." He is traditionally depicted wearing a bishop's miter and carrying a crosier, with a long white beard.
Origins and History
St. Nicholas is generally identified as the bishop of Myra, a fourth-century figure in Anatolia (modern Demre, Turkey), though his existence is not attested by historical documents. He is also called Nicholas of Bari and Nicholas of Myra, and his name derives from the Greek nikē (victory) and laos (people). A hagiography by Michael the Archimandrite, written between 814 and 842 AD, presents Nicholas as an exorcist and banisher of demons. He later formed the basis for Santa Claus, a nineteenth-century development from the Dutch Sinterklaas.
The Krampus, by contrast, has largely obscure origins and may be pre-Christian. Some link masked, horned, fur-clad figures to Celtic winter-warding practices, comparable to the Perchten, and to the Greek satyrs of the Dionysian cult. One of the earliest written references cited is from Saint Augustine around 400 AD, who wrote disapprovingly of young people dressed in furs roaring through the streets during the Epiphany period. The word "Krampus" gained wide usage in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries through Krampus postcards; postcard use emerged in Vienna and spread to German-speaking cities after the postal card was introduced in Austria-Hungary in 1897, with red postcards sent in the weeks before Christmas bearing short poems, humorous phrases, and the tagline "Gruß vom Krampus."
St. Nicholas plays and moving theater are part of the Tyrolean tradition, connected to medieval saint plays and the Ludus episcopi puerorum; the Protestant Reformation and Martin Luther also shaped how the customs developed. The Krampus is seen as a descendant of ancient Perchten figures, who come during the Rauhnächte around the winter solstice, from 21 December to 6 January, to drive out winter and the old year.
Customs and Traditions
The core domestic custom is the "laying" of gifts in shoes on St. Nicholas Eve. Children's shoes are filled with small gifts, or presents are brought in red sacks or on plates of cookies, candies, nuts, apples, and oranges. Children's behavior is recorded in a book, with golden crosses painted in for good conduct, and St. Nicholas checks the book during his house visits. Alpine farmer's rules and "Christkindl" customs are also associated with the day.
The Krampus accompanies St. Nicholas on his rounds. He is depicted in fur, with horns, a hand-carved wooden mask with a lolling tongue, cloven hooves, a long tail, chains, cowbells, and a birch or willow bundle, and he carries a basket or bag on his back to take away naughty children. He punishes the disobedient while St. Nicholas rewards the good, and he must obey St. Nicholas, so that good triumphs over evil. Krampus is a class of "devil" rather than an individual name; the German plural is Krampusse. The etymology is uncertain, possibly from Middle German "Kralle" (claw) or Bavarian "Krampn" (lifeless, dried, shriveled), and possibly linked to spirits of the dead.
Krampus troupes traditionally consist of young men. In the first week of December, especially on the evening of 5 December, they roam the streets with rusty chains and bells, or visit houses and inns alongside St. Nicholas. Traditional troupe figures include the Krampus, the black-faced Krampus, Bishop Nicholas, the Basket Carrier, and the Angels.
The Krampus Run
The Krampuslauf — also called Krampusrun, Devilsrun, or Krampusnight — is the public parade in which Krampus troupes take to the streets. Sometimes the "wild hunt" parades without the saint at all. Krampus parades are especially impressive in SalzburgerLand and Tirol. In the Gastein Valley, considered one of the most authentic Krampus runs, around 100 groups (Passen) take part; masks there are elaborately carved from Swiss stone pine, and horns and furs come from local goats and rams. The traditional "Rempeln" sees Krampus figures wrestle using only their shoulders, symbolising the triumph over evil. In the Gastein Valley the Krampus is seen not as embodying evil but as banishing it.
Related Rauhnacht customs in Austria include the smudging (Räuchern) of houses and stables to protect people and animals from evil spirits, the putting up of St. Barbara branches (which blossom in this period), Losen (an old form of fortune-telling), and legends of the Wild Hunt. Rauhnacht tours and smudging rituals are notable in the old alleys of Hall in Tirol.
Regional Variations
Tyrol is the core area of the tradition, both North and East Tyrol in Austria and South Tyrol (Trentino-Alto Adige) in Italy. The customs also extend into other Alpine regions of Austria, southern Bavaria in Germany, Switzerland, and Slovenia, as well as parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Croatia. Alpine valleys preserved highly localized Krampus customs because travel was historically difficult, and regionalism affects every aspect of Alpine Krampus and St. Nicholas folklore.
The Krampus figure goes by many regional names: Klaubauf in East Tyrol (found in older manuscripts), Bartl or Bartel, Niglobartl, Wubartl, Tuifl or Toifl (dialect for "devil"), and Ganggerl or Gankerl; Kramperl in the Bavarian foothills and the Salzburg area; Pelzebock or Pelznickel in southern Germany; Gumphinckel in Silesia; Krampusz in Hungary; and Schmutzli in Switzerland. Other evil companions to St. Nicholas in the wider tradition include Zwarte Piet, Hans Trapp, Knecht Ruprecht, Buttenmandl and Gankerl, and Père Fouettard.
Wood artist Arthur Moinat carves St. Nicholas and Krampus masks in Zell am See, Austria. The arrival of the Perchten (Krampus) traditionally marks the start of winter in Tyrol.
Food and Drink
The sources describe the gifts St. Nicholas brings rather than a specific festive meal: cookies, candies, nuts, apples, and oranges, presented in shoes, red sacks, or on plates. No further detail on St. Nicholas Day food or drink is provided in the available material.
Religious and Civic Observance
St. Nicholas Day has clear Christian origins and is observed in the home and in the community. The saint's visits, the keeping of the behavior book, and the church-rooted figure of the bishop of Myra give the day its religious character, while the Krampus runs and parades are public civic events. These customs are framed as intangible cultural heritage passed down through generations, and visitors who experience them firsthand support local identity. St. Nicholas is also associated with Advent tourism.