An Evening for Punishments: Inside San Antonio’s First Krampus Parade

December 5, 2024 – Where most Christmas parades kick off with reindeer, elves, candy canes, and an appearance from Santa, this past week, the city of San Antonio decided to keep a different kind of tradition alive. On Thursday evening, the Krampus Parade kicked off in the Blue Arts Complex, marking it as the first to be held in the city’s history.

Suddenly the candy-striped glitz and glam of the holidays were replaced with costumers donning horns, hooves, bells, whips, and devilish masks. Now, personally, I did not join in on the costuming and mischief-making of the evening, but it was a genuine joy to behold. I mean, where else does one find a Christmas parade that plays Type O Negative from a haunted carriage? Or feature guest appearances and performances from arts and culture groups ranging from the Bewitching Brujas – a spellbinding dance troupe – to the lovely opening song of the Folkloric Group of Blessings. That’s not even to mention all of the stilt walkers and character actors that decked the halls with monstrous puppets.

Following a torch-wielding Krampus through the inner city neighborhoods, the parade eventually ended its route in the King Williams Park, concluding with an after party in Rathskeller Bar. One would assume everyone would be able to get in on the action of a spooky-yet-festive party to usher in the Winter, but not everyone found the celebration to be warranted. Members of local churches showed up in numbers to protest the display and all that they thought that it stood for. The peace was eventually kept when the protestors were allowed to join in on the parade, which is what made up the tail end of the procession.

But why? Why go through all of the trouble to organize a parade based around an Eastern European folklore character in Texas of all places, and why is this even celebrated at all? Well, Krampusnacht is usually celebrated right before the Feast of Saint Nicholas in the countries where it originates. Krampus, of course, being the “anti-Santa,” a figure who comes out to punish those who have been bad the prior year. Unlike the jolly fat man, Krampus is a nightmarish creature made of horns and hooves and scratchy fur. Celebrating this dark and vengeful force may seem morbid, but the truth is that it’s about the celebration of balances in life. Krampusnacht highlights punishment and cruelty, and the Feast of Saint Nicholas highlights charity and community.

Overall, the first San Antonio Krampusnacht celebration was a great success. Though there is no current confirmation that the festivities will continue in 2025, if I were you, dear Texas resident, I’d keep my eyes peeled for any signs of this becoming an annual staple!

PHOTO CREDIT: Photos by Liam Tennant for ZrockR Magazine – (c) 2024 – All Rights Reserved.