Editing Companions of Saint Nicholas (section)

== Appearance ==
Often the subject of winter poems and tales, the Companions travel with Saint Nicholas carrying with them a rod (sometimes a stick and in modern times often a broom) and a sack. They are sometimes dressed in black rags, bearing a black face and unruly black hair. In many contemporary portrayals the companions look like dark, sinister, or rustic versions of Nicholas himself, with a similar costume but with a darker color scheme.

=== Knecht Ruprecht ===
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[[File:Samichlaus un Ruprecht.jpg|thumb|[[Knecht Ruprecht]] (on the left) and Saint Nicholas]]
In the [[folklore]] of Germany, Knecht Ruprecht, which translates as ''Farmhand Rupert'' or ''Servant Rupert'', is a companion of Saint Nicholas, and possibly the most familiar. Tradition holds that he was a man with a long beard, wearing fur or covered in pea-straw.<ref name="Thorpe">Benjamin Thorpe, [https://archive.org/details/ThorpeBNorthernMythologyComprisingThePrincipalPopularTraditionsAndSuperstitionsO_201707/page/n159 ''Northern mythology: comprising the principal popular traditions and superstitions of Scandinavia, north Germany, and the Netherlands''], vol. 3, (E. Lumley, 1852), 146.</ref> Knecht Ruprecht sometimes carried a long staff and a bag of ashes, and wore little bells on his clothes.<ref name="Thorpe"/>

According to tradition, Knecht Ruprecht asks children whether they know their prayers. If they do, they receive apples, nuts, and [[gingerbread]]. If they do not, he beats the children with his bag of ashes.<ref name="Thorpe"/> In other (presumably more modern) versions of the story, Knecht Ruprecht gives naughty children gifts such as lumps of coal, sticks, and stones, while well-behaving children receive sweets from Saint Nicholas. He also can be known to give naughty children a switch (stick) in their shoes instead of candy, fruit and nuts, in the German tradition.

''Ruprecht'' was a common name for the devil in Germany<ref name="siefker">Phyllis Siefker, ''Santa Claus, last of the wild men: the origins and evolution of Saint Nicholas, spanning 50,000 years'' (McFarland, 1997), 82.</ref> and [[Brothers Grimm|Grimm]] states that "[[Robin Goodfellow|Robin fellow]] is the same home-[[Sprite (creature)|sprite]] whom we in Germany call Knecht Ruprecht and exhibit to children at Christmas{{nbsp}}..."<ref name="siefker"/> Knecht Ruprecht first appears in written sources in the 17th century, as a figure in a [[Nuremberg]] Christmas procession.{{sfn|Siefker|1997|p=155}}

According to Alexander Tille, Knecht Ruprecht represented an archetypal manservant, "and has exactly as much individuality of social rank and as little personal individuality as the ''Junker Hanns'' and the ''Bauer Michel'', the characters representative of country nobility and peasantry respectively."<ref name="tille">Alexander Tille, ''Yule and Christmas: their place in the Germanic year'' (D. Nutt, 1899), 116.</ref> Tille also states that Knecht Ruprecht originally had no connection with Christmastime.<ref name="tille"/>

Ruprecht sometimes walks with a limp, because of a childhood injury. Often, his black clothes and dirty face are attributed to the soot he collects as he goes down chimneys. In some of the Ruprecht traditions, the children would be summoned to the door to perform tricks, such as a dance or singing a song to impress upon Santa and Ruprecht that they were indeed good children. Those who performed badly would be beaten soundly by Servant Ruprecht, and those who performed well were given a gift or some treats. Those who performed badly enough or had committed other misdeeds throughout the year were put into Ruprecht's sack and taken away, variously to Ruprecht's home in the [[Black Forest]] to be consumed later, or to be tossed into a river. In other versions the children must be asleep, and would awake to find their shoes filled with either sweets, coal, or in some cases a stick.

=== Krampus ===
{{main|Krampus}}
[[File:Krampus at Perchtenlauf Klagenfurt.jpg|thumb|left|A modern [[Krampus]] at the Perchtenlauf in [[Klagenfurt]] (2006)]]

''Krampus'' is a terrifying figure found in parts of Austria, Bavaria, South Tyrol, Slovenia, and Croatia, most probably originating in the [[Pre-Christian Alpine traditions]]. In Tyrol, he is also called "Tuifl".<ref name=Taylor>[https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2013/12/krampus-saint-nicholas-dark-companion/100639/ Taylor, Alan. "Krampus: Saint Nicholas' Dark Companion", ''The Atlantic'', December 3, 2013]</ref>

The Feast of Saint Nicholas is celebrated in parts of Europe on December 6. On the preceding evening, ''{{lang|de|Krampusnacht}}'', the wicked hairy devil appears on the streets. He sometimes accompanies St. Nicholas. However, Krampus will at times be on his own, visiting homes and businesses.<ref name="Bruce">{{cite journal |last=Bruce |first=Maurice |title=The Krampus in Styria |journal=Folklore |date=March 1958 |volume=69 |issue=1 |pages=44–47 |doi=10.1080/0015587X.1958.9717121 }}</ref> Saint  Nicholas dispenses gifts, while Krampus supplies coal and bundles of birch branches.<ref name="Siefker">{{cite book |last=Siefker |first=Phyllis |title=Santa Claus, last of the Wild Men: the origins and evolution of Saint Nicholas |publisher=McFarland and Co. |year=1997 |location=[[Jefferson, North Carolina]] |pages=155–159 |isbn=0-7864-0246-6}}</ref>

Europeans have been exchanging ''Krampuskarten'', greeting cards featuring Krampus, since the 1800s. A ''Krampuslauf'' is a run of celebrants dressed as the beast, and is still quite popular, many of the participants fortified with ''schnapps''. Over 1200 "Krampus" gather in [[Schladming]], [[Styria]] from all over Austria wearing goat-hair costumes and carved masks, carrying bundles of sticks used as switches and swinging cowbells to warn of their approach. In the past few decades village Krampus associations parade without St. Nicholas at Krampus events throughout late November and early December.<ref name=Taylor/>

In 2011, National Public Radio helped advertise the formation of a ''Krampuslauf'' by Krampus enthusiasts in Philadelphia.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Krampus and the Old, Dark Christmas: Roots and Rebirth of the Folkloric Devil|last=Ridenour|first=Al|publisher=Feral House|year=2016|isbn=9781627310345|location=Port Townsend, WA|pages=9}}</ref>

=== Belsnickel ===
[[File:Belsnickel in Modern Day Travel Attire.JPG|thumb|Modern day [[Belsnickel]] on his way to scare children in his travel attire, December 2012]]
{{main|Belsnickel}}

[[Belsnickel]] is a companion of Saint Nicholas in the Palatinate (Pfalz), Germany. Belsnickel is a man wearing fur which covers his entire body, and he sometimes wears a mask with a long tongue. He is a rather scary creature who visits children at [[Christmas]] time and delivers socks or shoes full of candy, but if the children were not good, they will find coal in their stockings instead.

In parts of the United States in the 19th century, "Pelznickel" traditions were maintained for a time among immigrants at least as far west as the US state of [[Indiana]]. Today, remnants of this tradition remain, known as the ''Belsnickel'', especially in [[Pennsylvania]].

A first-hand 19th-century account of the "Beltznickle" tradition in [[Allegany County, Maryland]], can be found in ''Brown's Miscellaneous Writings'', a collection of essays by Jacob Brown (born 1824).  Writing of a period around 1830, Brown says, "we did not hear of" [[Santa Claus]].  Instead, the tradition called for a visit by a different character altogether:

{{quote|He was known as Kriskinkle, Beltznickle and sometimes as the Xmas woman.  Children then not only saw the mysterious person, but felt him or rather his stripes upon their backs with his switch.  The annual visitor would make his appearance some hours after dark, thoroughly disguised, especially the face, which would sometimes be covered with a hideously ugly phiz – generally wore a female garb – hence the name Christmas woman – sometimes it would be a veritable woman but with masculine force and action.  He or she would be equipped with an ample sack about the shoulders filled with cakes, nuts, and fruits, and a long hazel switch which was supposed to have some kind of a charm in it as well as a sting.  One would scatter the goodies upon the floor, and then the scramble would begin by the delighted children, and the other hand would ply the switch upon the backs of the excited youngsters – who would not show a wince, but had it been parental discipline there would have been screams to reach a long distance.<ref>Jacob Brown, ''Brown's Miscellaneous Writings'', Printed by J.J. Miller (Cumberland, Maryland 1896), page 41.</ref>}}

On the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, a Christmas tradition known as Belsnickling occurs, where, similar to mummering, people go from house to house within the communities dressed in multiple layers of clothing and with scarves around their faces to conceal their identity. These people are then given food and drinks (usually rum or eggnog) until their identities are guessed, and then they're off to the next house.

=== Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) ===
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[[File:Sintenpiet.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet]]
{{main|Zwarte Piet|Père Fouettard}}
''Zwarte Piet'' ({{langx|en|Black Peter or Black Pete}}, {{langx|fr|Père-Fouettard}}, meaning father whipper) is the companion of Saint Nicholas ({{langx|nl|[[Sinterklaas]]}}) in the [[folklore of the Low Countries]]. The character first appeared in his current form in an 1850 book by Jan Schenkman and is commonly depicted as a [[Blackamoors (decorative arts)|blackamoor]]. Traditionally Zwarte Piet is said to be [[Black people|black]] because he is a [[Moors|Moor]] from Spain.<ref name=BDF>{{cite book|title=Christmas: A Candid History |first=Bruce David |last=Forbes |year=2007 |place=University of California Press}}</ref> Participants portraying Zwarte Piet typically wear [[blackface]] make-up, by painting their faces black, wearing exaggerated red lipstick, and a "nappy" or "kinky" wig, as well as colorful [[1550–1600 in fashion|Renaissance]] attire and gold earrings. The character has become a reoccurring subject of controversy, especially in the Netherlands, for its perceived cultural and ethnic insensitivity. Historically, Zwarte Piet is referred to as a servant, not a companion.<ref name="Felicity Morse">{{cite web | publisher= Huffington Post|location= UK | author= Felicity Morse | url= http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/12/06/zwarte-piet-black-pete-christmas-dutch-netherlands_n_2249412.html |title=Zwarte Piet: Opposition Grows To 'Racist Black Pete' Dutch Tradition |access-date= 27 October 2012 }}</ref>

Like Knecht Ruprecht, he was traditionally the one punishing ill-behaved children by beating them with a birch rod or even taking them back to Spain in a sack he carried (which on arrival contained the gifts for the good children). However, in the 20th century these punishments were abolished and Zwarte Piet became a friendly character, although the punishments can still be heard in Sinterklaas songs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stnicholascenter.org/how-to-celebrate/resources/music/songs/dutch/|title=St. Nicholas Center ::: Dutch Sinterklaas Songs|website=www.stnicholascenter.org|access-date=13 May 2021}}</ref>