At this year’s holiday stroll, the Krampus tent received attention from several visitors to the event. The Krampus Market has been part of the Downtown Milford Holiday Stroll for several years, created by Cat Perfetti, owner of Stone & Sage.
“We do this as a yearly fundraiser and all monies collected are donated to a local charity each year,” Perfetti said. “This year was Grassroots Rescue. Last year, it was the Breast Cancer Coalition of Delaware. The year before was Home of the Brave Veterans Home.”
When Stone & Sage was located across from the building across from the Milford Public Library, the market, along with Krampus, was held in the parking lot. Stone & Sage moved out of that building a few months ago. They relocated their retail store from that location to 37 North Walnut Street where the Healing Center was originally. The healing Center moved to the Godwin-Baker House, located at 206 North Walnut Street.
According to Becky Little of History.com, Krampus has been part of many holiday traditions for centuries. It is still prominent in Austria’s Alpine region. Krampus is a half-man half-goat who comes around every year to chase naughty children. Other similar characters in other cultures include Belsnickle and Knecht Ruprecht.
Initially, Krampus was part of pagan celebrations around the winter solstice but adopted as part of Christian traditions. In Austria and some parts of Germany, St. Nicholas visited children to reward their behavior on December 5 or 6. Coming with him was Krampus who would punish the bad children. The day was known as Krampusnacht, or “Krampus Night,” when adults may dress up as Krampus to convince children that they needed to be more well-behaved leading up to Christmas.
Celebrated in Austria and Germany for centuries, Krampus was not well known in the United States outside of those cultures util 2004 when art director and graphic designer Monte Beauchamp published a book of Krampus cards and organized an art show inspired by the cards. Krampus cards were popular in the late 1800s in Germany. They were not happy, cheerful cards as they depicted Krampus stuffing a distressed child into his satchel or preparing to hit one with a bundle of sticks.
Krampus cards faded away until the art show in 2004 and now you can find an entire section of Krampus cards on Etsy along with other Krampus merchandise. In 2015, a feature film, Krampus, was released.
Although relatively new in the United States, Krampus has been part of many holiday traditions for those of German and Austrian descent.
“At Downtown Milford Inc., we celebrate all cultures,’ Downtown Milford Coordinator, Sade Truiett, said. “We hope that when people see something like Krampus they take the time to learn more about how various cultures celebrate holidays. Cat is more than happy to explain why Krampus is important in her celebration, so simply stop by either of the Stone & Sage locations to learn more!”
