I've been working on some fairly long term projects recently.
This holiday season I will be sending out a little Snail Mail gift envelope of little stickers and such to those of you on my mailing list.
Just add your self to my (E-mail Signup) http://eepurl.com/CZ0Tr with your address before 12/14/2013.
(I will only ship to US mailing addresses)
For my holiday card I've been doing a little bit of research on Krampus.
Here is the finished card:
Krampus grew to be a part of many familys' Christmas traditions. In the late 1800's, the invention of color printing and postcards wound up making Krampus a Christmas icon. German-speaking people around the world took to sending their friends and children postcards that featured the Krampus. The postcards would often read; GRUSS VOM KRAMPUS, meaning Greetings From Krampus. The message was intended to be a humorous reminder to be good.
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In these regions it also became fairly common for the young men of the town to dress up and run through the streets. Whenever the first people decided to dress up as Krampus, they would have created a monster defined by whatever easily available materials could be used for a startling effect. In some cases those materials were the horns and pelts of mountain goats, and in others, straw or hay set aside as winter fodder. Today, though some costumes may be produced by mass production, they still imitate the look established by materials regionally available in Alpine valleys.
Their traditional costumes and masks are elaborately handcrafted. Krampusses can usually be encountered on and a few days before December 6
Atlas Obscura
Europe's Wild Men
For the children of the Alps, Krampus isn't purely a figure of terror. No, he's also a sugary treat, factoring into a whole host of traditional chocolates, cookies and breads.
Decorations from Salzburg
If you like Krampus, I recommend the movie "Rare Exports"
All the best winter wishes and holiday traditions!
-Jen
