On the evening of the 5th of December South Tirol celebrates the traditional St. Nicholas parade. The float with the white-bearded Saint - who gives fruits and sweets to the children - is followed by unsettling half-man, half-goat creatures. They’re the “Krampuses”, looking for “bad children,” and some bad grown-ups too, in order to punish them.

 

This celebration’s origins are very old, probably a pre-Christian heathen tradition to celebrate the winter solstice. It is practiced in many places of the region, but especially in Merano, where the patron saint is St. Nicholas.