The charitable Bishop Nikolaus lives on today in the form of St Nicholas, a friendly figure who rewards good children with small gifts. These days, St Nicholas mostly appears without the Krampus, his sinister and demon-like companion from alpine folklore, so the Krampus has developed a lively life of its own. It now gathers with friends big and small for Krampus parades. The satanic creatures wrapped in fur pass through the streets wearing hand-carved wooden masks, rattling chains and bells and letting out loud cries. The various Krampus parades in our region are an expression of this new tradition, which is enjoying increasing popularity.
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