So my time in Switzerland is drawing to an end. Very sad times indeed.
However this will not be the last post about this delightful country and this is about what I have learned about Christmas in this part of the world.
So – they don’t have Father Christmas/Santa Claus!!! No local hall visits from the Merry Red Man for the Swiss children.
The Swiss have a Christmas on the 6th December (St Nicholas’s Day) and at work, a lovely lady came around with a trolley and gave us a Grittibänzen:
Instead of Santa, they have two ‘Christmas Guys’ – Samichlaus, who is similar to the big FC, but is more like a monk wearing red. He performs similar duties as Santa with gifts and is generally a stellar guy. The other guy is Schmutzli – he wears black, has a dark beard and follows Sami around, leading a donkey usually. Despite what you might think, he is good and helps Sami do stuff, he’s just a bit dull.
So this is lovely. But there is a dark side to Christmas around these parts. Luckily in Switzerland this is not a thing, but nearby in the Black Forest and Austria and other German-speaking places, there is a thing called the KRAMPUS. He is the evil anti-santa who chases, captures and tortures children who are naughty.
I kid you not, this is terrifying and if I was young enough to expect presents from any portly bearded men, I would make sure I was pretty effing good.
It’s not even funny how scary this is, worse than anything from Halloween. Imagine if you thought that because you had had a tantrum in Toys Я’ Us that this demonic thing would come out of the Black Forest and carry you away. That could affect your personal and social development!
Anyway that’s what I’ve learned about other Christmasses. Apart from that, it has been lovely, with Gluhwein, trees everywhere, christmas markets and good food.
Going skiing this weekend – SO EXCITED ABOUT SWISS SKIING!
Tatty Bye for now.
A Bolas About 