The day of the Krampus... and just when you think traditions are fixed entities

They go and change them on you, for pity's sake. The big Krampus meeting was last Sunday.
So I went into town at twilight anyway, looking for a Krampus. The sign says 'surface damage' in case you wonder.....












They have an Advent village, a Christkindlmarkt in front of City Hall on the main square.
What I do NOT understand is this display over one of them. Did Disney bribe them or something? And the damned things move, as well, hey.










But there was the usual Kitsch, which was reassuring....




























Pretty, shiny, aren't they?










I have this sneakret desire to ride that carousel, just once. But let's face it, at fifty-eight, that would really be anything but seemly....



















This is a créche in sculptured ice. Bill O would be so proud, hey. No war on Christmas here, hey... They have a second one in the freezer somewhere that they will trot out when this one melts. The weather is too mild.










It got darker and darker, no Krampusses in sight. I felt like the kid who just learned there is no Santy-Clause. So I did my only one time a year mulled wine at a stand, after attempting to shop, and I NEVER shop, hey. I bought a suit jacket for work for only 27 Euros. Had to be a product of slave labour. I shouldn't have done that, it only encourages the damned manufacturers.










Whatever, at the stand I saw my first Krampus. This one is 'Sophie'. (stress on the second syllable, please.) The guy next to me was way into his cups, had bought it for his girlfriend, and named it after her, as she is wild, or something. I haven't laughed so much in a very long time, hey. And THEN! A real Krampus appeared! Oh, they love being photographed. (Actually, I think you have to be a bit twisted to go in for this stuff, but they put a lot of loving care into these costumes....)










Isn't he gorgeous?











This guy seemed to think he didn't need a mask. Eeew. It's supposed to be Krampus, not Night of the Living Dead, you know? He just planted himself in front of me, and posed. I was too skeered NOT to take his picture. I don't know what he would have done if I hadn't. And no, it wasn't the mulled wine. He was scary.











This one could make little kids have nightmares and wet the bed...










I mean, really. Isn't he wonderful?










This one sort of looks retarded, somehow. Not so scary.










These do look better if you open them in a new tab.














And THIS is my guy, hey. Best Krampus I've seen in years. He took it off later? Just an ordinary, white-bread Austrian. Tja.











pretty lights. They still only use white ones, not garish coloured ones. Tja. And then I went home.