The Dead of Winter: Beware the Krampus and Other Wicked Christmas Creatures | 
pickClegg looks at the origins of the darker Christmas traditions still celebrated today. She looks at how Carnival traditions used to tie into Christmas, at Krampus and Santa Lucia, as well as the Winter Solstice at Stonehenge. And several more in between.
Short NF that's well worth a read at this time of year.
@Caroline2
"This is my account of a winter spent with monsters, but it's also an effort to understand their history, where and when they originated, and why they take the forms they do. It is an attempt as well to understand why we are so drawn to horrors at Christmastime."
so-soA look at the darker side of Christmas in Europe including: Krampus, Santa's alter-ego St Nicholas, & how Christmas carolling from door-to-door could have developed from the originally much more sinister practice of guising.
I've always thought that the words to 'We Wish You A Merry Christmas' were a little bit sinister - demanding figgy pudding & refusing to leave until they received it - & if it did originate with guising then no wonder.
