Remember, these are supposed to be "the good guys!"

One of the parents here at St. Jude on Wednesday night asked me to repost my article about Der Krumpus. Who you may ask?

Well, you probably are aware that Santa Claus has become a syrupy sweet icon of Christmas in our modern American Society (see picture above). It is important to know that this is a, excuse the term, "bastardization" of who Santa Claus really was.

In fact, we celebrate the Feast of St. Nicholas this Saturday, and the story of St. Nicholas is far more real and far more human and far more focused on Christ. St. Nicholas, of course, was a Bishop who lived in Myra in the 4th century. His relics are now located in Bari, so he is sometimes referred to as St. Nicholas of Bari. It is the same guy. He was a man filled with passion for the Lord Jesus Christ, and because of this he has become a model of charity and care for others.

Nevertheless, other cultures have not taken to, as some would say, the "sickening-sweet-candy-cane-and-button-nose" take on the 4th Century Bishop that we have in America. Others are a little more realisitic with what it means to celebrate Christmas. Take the Austrians for example...

At the risk of boring those of you who may not have seen this post last year, I hope you enjoy this Austrian Tradition that to our eyes and ears may seem a bit odd - but as you can imagine this is all in good fun for Austrian families... somehow...

Here is the link to my December 2007 posting.