Outside on Christmas

When I was a boy, everyone in my village knew that children had to be extra good on the shortest night of the year, because that was the night that the Krampus came out.

A Krampus was sort of like a man, sort of like a goat, and sort of like a reindeer. I remember one night in December, my brother, my sister, and I were discussing it.

"I hear it eats up naughty children," I said.

"So what?" said my brother. "I'm not afraid of it. I'm not afraid of nothing."

"Actually," said my sister wistfully, "my friend, Lucy, says that it doesn't eat children. It kisses them on the lips."

"Eaaugh! Gross!" said my brother. "I'll be good and stay inside. I promise."

Well, as I recall, my sister was the one who suggested we all sneak out and see if we could meet the Krampus. Neither my brother nor I liked the idea, but when our sister started calling us, "Chickens," we had to go.

It was very dark when we left the house, and there was cold snow everywhere. Then from out of the darkness, we saw the Krampus. It was, indeed like a deer, but it walked on two legs like a man.

"Let's get out of here," said my brother.

"No way," said my sister. "I want to see it-" Before she could finish, the Krampus threw a huge snowball right into her face.

"Hey," she said wiping the snow from her face, "that wasn't funny."

The Krampus didn't seem to agree. It jumped around laughing to itself. Then, it grabbed my sister spun her around and pushed her face forward into the snow.

My brother and I weren't sure what to do.

Then a voice said, "Stop!"

Me, my brother, my sister, and even the Krampus looked up to see an old man riding out of the forest. "In the name of Jesus Christ, I order you to free that child."

The Krampus paused as if deciding whether to obey. Then, it seemed to shrug, release my sister, and walk away into the wood.

"Are you all right, child?" the man asked my sister.

"I guess," said my sister, "just very cold and wet. Who are you?"u

"My name is Nicholas. I have come to teach your village about the child whose birthday is tonight."

"You can come into our house," I said.

Nicholas came to our house and met our parents. He taught us about Jesus and Christians and all those other things. He stayed with us most of the winter. Then, in spring, he baptized us.

But once, on his first night with us, my brother complained that Nicholas' talk was boring.

My mother tried to shush him, but Nicholas just smiled and said, "You are free to leave if you like, but I can't guarantee that the Krampus will not be out there."

That was the start of an important Christmas tradition for us. You see, we always go to church on Christmas Eve, but when the mass drags on too long, or the priest spends too much time on his homily, children are permitted to leave the church, but if they do, they always come back into the church very cold and very wet. I never left the church. My brother did a few times, but after the first few Christmases, he stopped. My sister, on the other hand, left the church almost every year, and still does as far as I know.

Ah well, I never asked either of them what happens when they venture outside, but I think the Krampus must be waiting.

606 words