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Today, I want to share with you the very real
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and very dark stories behind some of our most beloved
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Christmas characters. For instance, did you know that St. Nick
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used to send naughty kids to the pits of hell?
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Or that he gets a lot of inspiration from a
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Christmas witch that would cut naughty children into pieces? This
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beloved holiday is actually about as dark as a brother's
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grim fairy tale. Welcome back to Heart Starts Pounding. I'm
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your host, Kayla Moore, and today I'm It feels great
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to be cozied up here in the Rogue Detecting Society headquarters.
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I love this time of year. And as you know,
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if you're a regular, one of our favorite things to
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do is talk about folklore. We've talked about terrifying tales
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from Appalachia, some of the origins of gothic horror. and
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even holidays like Halloween. But today we're going to be
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talking about Christmas. Specifically, I want to get into some
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of the darker pagan folklore and traditions that worked their
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way into what the Catholic Church had intended to be
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a celebration of the birth of Christ. There's actually quite
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a bit of dark folklore hiding around this holiday if
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you know where to look. And just a reminder, if
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you like true crime cases that read like gothic horror,
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mysteries that will keep you up at night, and let
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me check my notes here, tales of witches that pull
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out children's organs like in today's story, well, you're in
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the right place. You are just like me. Wherever you are,
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make sure that you follow along, subscribe, leave a comment,
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all of that good stuff. And quickly before we dive in,
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I do want to say a big thank you to
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everyone who listens to the ad-supported version of this show
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and to all of our sponsors that make it possible
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to do all of the research and editing that it
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takes to make this show this year. I think we
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put out 56 free episodes of heart starts pounding. That's
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the most we've ever done in history. And this month
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we're going to be donating a portion of the ad
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revenue to feeding America, a network of food banks where
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98% of donations go directly to programs and services that
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help people facing hunger. So thank you to everyone listening
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for making that possible. Okay. Let's get into it. And
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to start, I want to tell you about a pagan
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holiday witch that predates St. Nicholas. It's when your heart
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starts pounding. Before we had Santa Claus, we had a
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Christmas witch known as Frau Perchte. She hails from Southern
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Germanic folklore, the same place that gave us the Brothers Grimm. However,
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she would have made even Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm clutch
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their pearls in horror. Because even though Frau Perchte shares
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some similarities with the modern-day Santa Claus, like wanting to
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know if children had been bad or good, she is
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far more macabre and violent than Santa. In her legend,
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she would visit children's homes on the eve of winter solstice.
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When children are good, she would bring them nothing. But
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if they were bad, well, they were about to find out.
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It was the eve of the winter solstice many, many
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years ago. A young girl named Lena played with her
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doll by the fire in her family's small home in Austria.
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Across the room, Lena's mother spun flax on her loom
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to make linen. She stopped, realizing that it was time
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to make the porridge for dinner. She asked Lena if
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she would continue to spin the flax, but Lena just
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wanted to keep playing. Her mother's face grew serious as
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she grabbed Lena by the shoulders, explaining to her that
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tonight of all nights, she needed to obey. Because tonight
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was the Wild Hunt. The Wild Hunt is a band
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of evil creatures led by the goddess Perchta, Frau Perchta,
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as she's called by those who fear her. Lena's mother
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explained that Frau Perchta had skin made of iron. She
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had a long crooked nose covered in metal warts. She
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wears only rags as to hide her single large clawed foot.
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When she arrives, the goddess looks around the house to
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see if you've completed your chores. If you haven't, then
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she'll shred your pillow and toss the soot from the
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fire all over the floor. If you've left unspun flax,
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she'll smear it with her own excrement, leaving your family
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without anything to make linen. You'll be cold and miserable
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the rest of the winter. But none of that compares
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to what she'll do if you don't leave her some porridge.
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If you're selfish and you eat all of the porridge
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for yourself on the night that Perchta comes, She'll take
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out her long iron scissors and cut open your stomach.
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She'll get her porridge, even if she has to cut
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it out of you. Before Lena could ask if this
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was all true, there was a sound at the door.
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The door to the hut flew open. A bitter wind
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carrying ice and snow filled the room and nearly extinguished
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the fire. For a moment, Lena feared that Frau Perchta
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had arrived. But it was not a goddess. It was
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her father, who was coming in from the cold with
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extra firewood. She ran forward to give him a big hug.
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The family settled down for the night and focused on
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their meal. Lina noticed that her father and mother only
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ate half of their porridge. Before she could take another bite,
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her father reached over and took her own bowl from her.
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She was hungry. She wanted to finish her porridge. But
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her father shook his head. He stood up and carried
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his bowl and Lina's over to the fire, placing them
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at the hearth. Her mother followed behind her with her
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own bowl. They reminded her that Frau Perchte was coming
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that night, and they needed to leave some porridge for
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her and her Perchten, the spirits that followed her in
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the wild hunt. It was time for bed, but her
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mother warned her to be a good girl and finished
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spinning the flax before
she went to sleep. Her parents
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then went to bed on the far side of the hut,
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pulling animal skin curtains shut all around them for privacy.
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Lena was left alone now, wondering what to do next.
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She was tired, and she was still hungry. She looked
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between the bowls sitting at the hearth, the loom in
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the corner, and the curtain where her parents were sleeping.
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She moved towards the hearth, picking her bowl back up
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and swallowing big mouthfuls of porridge. One bowl wasn't enough.
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She wolfed down her mother's bowl and her father's bowl
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as well. By the time she was done, she was
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so full that she could hardly move. She was sleepier
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than ever. The fire was warm and her chores seemed
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impossible to do now. So she laid down and her
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eyelids closed. Outside, the night grew colder and darker. The
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wind picked up and then a blast like a trumpet
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woke Lena from her sleep. The fire blew out. It
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was pitch black in the hut. Lena called out for
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her parents, but she got no answer. She couldn't see anything.
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She could only hear the wind blowing and then a
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cacophony of sounds, hooves clopping, horses neighing, bells jingling, shrill,
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high-pitched laughter in the distance, and above it all, a
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voice that was both beautiful and horrible, singing a strange
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song that went like this. So you shall not escape,
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my old broomstick, the whips, the rod, with which I'll
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beat you until you're red with blood. Your hands and
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feet I'll bind and throw you into the mire. Set
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fire to your braids and hair, scratch your face and
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cut your nose, and rough you up quite well. All
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your dolls I'll toss and burn and shred your finest
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Sunday dress. When I find you snoring late in bed,
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I'll reel your intestines out from your belly. and fill
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the hole with wood shavings. The door to the hut
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then flew open, unleashing a freezing wind a hundred times
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worse than the wind from
before. It coated the inside
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of the hut, turning every surface to ice. She turned
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around in horror, looking to her parents' bed. Her eyes
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were wide as she saw their curtain had been blown away,
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and they were lying completely still, their eyes open in shock,
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their skin torn, pale and white as the moon, icicles
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hung from their noses and chins. They had been frozen
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to death. A cackling noise from the direction of the
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door drew Lena's attention back around. She turned in time
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to see several horrible shapes enter the room. They were monsters,
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covered in hair with terrible horns protruding from all directions.
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Their faces were covered with twisted, hateful wooden masks, and
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their long, forked tongues licked the air, searching for prey.
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These were the perched in, twisted servants of the goddess.
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They held Lena down, who screamed in protest, but this
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only made them laugh more. Lena trembled from head to
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toe as the icy wind chilled her all over. Her
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stomach sank and her skin turned to goose flesh as
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a new figure arrived at the door. The hulking crone
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was bathed in moonlight and covered in ice. Her long,
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crooked nose was sharp iron, just as Lena's mother described.
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What the story hadn't mentioned, though, were Perchta's hateful yellow eyes,
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which were horrible pinpricks in the darkness. As she glided
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forward without a sound, she produced a crooked pair of
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shears from beneath her robes. Frau Perchta had come to collect.
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She lowered the scissors toward Lena's body, and then she
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began to cut. and the other monsters cackled with glee
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as they surged forward, ready to have their solstice feast. Now,
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this story might sound like a dark fairy tale, but
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it was something that ancient Europeans really believed in. People
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would really leave their porridge bowls half full on the
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eve of the winter solstice to leave it out for Perchta.
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And this is a very ancient, much less tasty version
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of leaving cookies and milk out for Santa. How the
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porridge looked in the morning also predicted your luck for
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the next year. If you heard perched a slurping in
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the night, you knew that your house was blessed. If
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you went back to look at the bowl in the
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morning and you found the spoon had moved, you were
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cursed and you were going to have bad luck all
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that next year. But worst of all, if your spoon
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had completely fallen into the bowl, then you were doomed
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to die later that year. Most hoped that a blessed
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household meant that they would soon be having children because
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children meant that there were more hands around the house
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for help. And once children reached working age, perch dough
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was a useful tool for keeping them in line. If
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a child didn't do their chores in these ancient times,
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it could have serious consequences for the family, like animals
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not getting milked, flax not getting spun, crops not getting harvested.
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That all meant that the family could potentially starve or
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freeze in the winter months. So by telling the children
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that perch dough would destroy their homes if they didn't
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do their chores, they had this illustrative way of conveying
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the importance of housework and the dangers of winter. Perchta
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was also evoked to keep children safe, though. Wandering off
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into the woods could have deadly consequences. You could get lost,
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you could get eaten by wolves, you could get kidnapped.
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So parents would tell children that Perchta was in the
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woods to keep them from the real danger. So... Perchta was,
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in a few ways, this kind of eerie, dark female Santa.
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But you might be surprised to learn that she was
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also the first trick-or-treater. This is just like a fun
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fact I found while we were researching this episode. But
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Halloween and Christmas were once essentially the same holiday. In
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ancient times, pagan communities harvested their crops and slaughtered their
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animals around late October or early November to get ready
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for winter. They would celebrate the season and make offerings
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to gods like Perchta They believed that spirits such as
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her would be walking the earth that night. And they
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thought that this was why their days were growing shorter
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and colder. Young men in these communities would act out
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this belief by dressing up in creepy costumes meant to
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look like Perchta and her minions. They would smear their
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faces with animal grease. They would tie hay around their
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waists and wear animal pelts. Or they would even create
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these elaborate horned masks. And then they would knock on
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doors and say something like, children or bacon or I
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won't go away. And this was to mimic Perchta either
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taking your child or getting her food offering. It was
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kind of like trick or treat. But as the pagans
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got better at farming and animal husbandry, they could harvest
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later and later in the year, sometimes waiting until December.
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So depending on the area and the community, the harvest
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might be celebrated at two different times, once in late
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October and then again in December. And when Christian missionaries
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started to visit these communities to convert them, they would
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try to pull them away from their pagan beliefs by
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replacing pagan holidays with different Christian ones. And that, at
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least in part, is how the late October, early November
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festivals became All Saints Day. But the pagans still celebrated
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another harvest celebration in December, and the Christians needed to
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transform that one into a Christian one as well. And
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so maybe you see where I'm going with all of this.
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So slowly over time, Perchta transformed into Santa, which is
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why early Santa and St. Nick folklore is absolutely terrifying,
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which I want to tell you about now. So if
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Perchta was a predecessor to Santa, you might be wondering
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how she went from a child-eating death goddess to the
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Santa that we have today. Well, there's actually an important
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figure who helped this transformation happen. You've probably heard of
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Santa being referred to as Saint Nick, an official saint
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of the Catholic church who they believed performed miracles. But
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what you might not know is that he wasn't originally
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this jolly Austrian man with a white beard. We haven't
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quite made it to that version just yet in our
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tour of dark holiday folklore. Saint Nicholas was originally Greek
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and he lived in the Mediterranean and his beard was
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probably much darker in color. Saint Nick did travel down chimneys,
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but not to deliver presents, for reasons that are honestly upsetting,
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and his miracles were disturbing, to say the least. It
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was a cool, clear night in Byzantium, or Turkey today.
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Nicholas was a wandering priest searching for three young boys
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who recently went missing in the area. Their parents were
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horribly worried. And to make the situation even worse, it
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was soon going to be Christmas. The thought of this
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drove him onward, eager to reunite the boys with their parents.
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But eventually, the chilly winter air got the better of Nicholas,
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and he admitted to himself that he needed to seek
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shelter and resume his search for the boys in the morning.
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So he stopped by a small inn on the side
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of the road. The lights were all off, and he
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knocked on the door, half expecting no answer. But after
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a few moments, he heard some rustling and a latch
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being undone. The door creaked open inward, exposing a sinister
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figure lit only by candlelight. The very sight of the
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man on the other side of the door filled Nicholas
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with dread. His face was covered in strange blotches. He
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had only one good eye glaring out from beneath a
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single bushy eyebrow. When he opened his mouth to speak,
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he had these rotten brown teeth framed by a greasy
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black mustache. Nicholas showed
some coins he had and said
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that he was looking for a place to spend the night.
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The innkeeper glared at Nicholas and let out a huff,
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but he took the coins and he waved him inside.
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As Nicholas surveyed the inn, he found something unsettling. At
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the center of the room, situated over a massive hearth,
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sat a large black kettle simmering with some unknown dinner.
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The smell was enough to nearly chase Nicholas back outside.
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It smelled horrible. But something urged him back on. He
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wanted to see what was inside the pot. He slowly
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walked forward, lifting the lid on the kettle. His eyes
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stung and he pinched his nose to protect from the
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assault on his senses. The stew was even more foul
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up close. His eyes stopped stinging just long enough for
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him to get a good look at the contents. And there,
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simmering amongst the potatoes and turnips of the stew... were
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several sets of small human hands and feet. And then
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a portion of a face bubbled to the surface and
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he recognized it immediately. Nicholas realized that he had found
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the three missing boys. Before the innkeeper could even react,
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Nicholas pushed him to the ground. And then turning back
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to the pot, he placed his hand above the contents.
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He refused to accept that this was the end that
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the children had come to. Not like this, not so
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close to Christmas. Channeling his faith deeper than he ever
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had before, he reached out into the cosmos, beseeching the
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Holy Spirit to aid him. Without thinking and without knowing
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what he was about to say, he issued one solemn command.
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Rise up, children. This unnatural light filled the room. The
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innkeeper was instantly blinded, and Nicholas didn't look away for
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an instant. He watched as the light fell upon the
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kettle before him, lifting all the contents out from the pot.
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And then the body parts of the slain boys glimmered
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with this angelic light as they slowly churned in the
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pot and came back together. And soon the dismembered corpses
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were made whole, lowering to the floor of the inn.
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As the light dimmed, the children's eyes shot open and
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they jumped to their feet. When they saw the innkeeper
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struggling blind on the ground, they all screamed, but Nicholas
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promised that they were now safe. Leaving the innkeeper, Nicholas
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guided the children home, and this was considered by the
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church to be one of his many miracles. A few
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days later, Nicholas resumed his travels, making his way to
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a large town on the coast. At first, he wasn't
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sure why God had brought him to this place, but
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he followed his instincts and he was led to a
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home at the center of town. It was a two-story
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structure with this really large chimney. And as Nicholas looked
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it up and down, a passing old woman noticed him
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and she shook her head. She told him a very
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sad story. The owner of the house had gone completely bankrupt.
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He had three daughters, but with no money, he could
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not pay their dowry. And with no dowry, he had
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no choice, he felt, but to sell his daughters to
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traveling sailors. And this transaction was going to take place
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the following day at a local brothel. But the man
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decided that it was worth it so that he could
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have some money. Nicholas was obviously disturbed by the story
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when he heard it, and he decided that he had
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to do whatever he could to save these girls. Now, Nicholas,
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being a very saintly man, had given away most of
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his money to charity. But he realized that his family
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still had a small portion of money at a local bank.
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So he took it upon himself to make a full
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withdrawal of what his family had left, and he filled
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a sack that he had with him with this gold.
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That night, he wrapped himself in a shawl tightly around
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his body and climbed up the side of the merchant's
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townhouse
with his bag of gold slung over his shoulder.
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Not wanting to be detected, he saw no other option
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than to enter the house through the chimney. He carefully
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lowered himself down through the narrow space, trying his hardest
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not to sneeze at all the soot. And when he
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got out of the chimney, he bumped into something soft
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and wet. Squinting in the moonlight, he saw that the
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merchant's three daughters had hung their stockings to dry above
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the fireplace. Now, Nicholas knew that a father who was
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so proud he would rather sell his daughters to sailors
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than admit bankruptcy... would never accept charity from the church.
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He knew that he must perform a miracle, or rather
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he had to make his gift look like a miracle.
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So he took the gold from his bag and he
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filled each stocking to the top. Once his bag was empty,
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he climbed back up the chimney. The next morning, Nicholas
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once again waited outside of the house, watching. A smile
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crackled across his face when he heard the sounds of
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rejoicing from inside. The daughters had been spared from being
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sold off at the brothel because of his miracle. Suddenly,
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the front door flew open and the father stumbled to
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the street, his arms full of gold. He gave thanks
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to God, convinced that a miracle had occurred, not knowing
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that it was actually the generosity of Nicholas. Now, the
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actual historical figure we know as Saint Nicholas lived and
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died between 270 and 343 AD. And clearly his legend
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has changed a ton since then. But now when you
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see a Christmas movie of Santa carrying a sack of
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presents down a chimney for children, you'll know what he
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was actually doing all of those years ago. In the 1100s,
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when Catholic missionaries were trying to convert Europe, These were
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the types of stories that they were telling in places
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like Austria. And soon, the pagan Austrians who believed in
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Perchten and Frau Perchte were blending their myths
and legends
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into the Catholic ones. And I guess leaving behind some
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of the child mutilation parts. Now, this would not be
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a horror podcast or a horror holiday folklore episode without
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talking about Krampus. Once the Catholic Church arrived in pagan
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Europe and began converting the population, they started to portray
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the pagan deities as weak and subservient to the Christian
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God and saints. Folk spirits like the Perchton could no
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longer be worshipped as forces of nature, both good and evil.
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They had to be looked at as exclusively evil. This
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is according to the church. And they also had to
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be subservient to Saint Nicholas, who was now being looked
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at as kind of the saint of Christmas. By the 1500s,
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these pagan creatures came to resemble Christian demons, basically. Instead
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of long fur and wooden masks that they used to
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have in the stories, they now had short hair, hooved feet, claws,
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and angry little pinched faces. The word perched in literally
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translates to bright one. And over time, that word was
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changed to a different word. Krampus. Krampus means claw. Because,
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according to the church, that's what they do. They claw
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at your door to get in. Now you've heard the name,
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maybe you've even seen the movie, but the legend has
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changed over time. Nowadays, people think of Krampus as a
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sort of singular, demonic anti-Santa. But originally, Krampus was not
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one creature, but many. Krampuses. And they didn't work against Santa,
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they actually worked with him. Artwork from throughout history shows
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Krampuses covered in chains that are held by St. Nicholas.
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You can see the chains of Christianity. And the church
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would sponsor morality plays in different villages showcasing this dynamic.
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An actor would be dressed up as St. Nicholas holding
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the chains that were attached to the Krampuses, and he
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would judge the children as bad or good. If they
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were good in this era, they received presents. But if
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they were bad, well, that's where the legend of Perchta
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still kind of reared its head. Because if they were bad,
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things could still get very deadly for them. It was St.
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Nicholas's Day, December 6th, 1572, in a town in Austria.
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A young boy named Andreas was watching the annual parade
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through his town. It was a frightening display. All of
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the local men were dressed in Krampus costumes, which included
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big fur suits and terrifying horned masks. They carried whips
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and switches and smacked anyone in the crowd who wandered
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too close to them. Some of the women would actually
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offer up their bottoms to be smacked, and this made
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Andreas blush. Some of the younger boys offered up their
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own bottoms just to show that they weren't afraid of
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the Krampuses. But Andreas was afraid. Very afraid. No matter
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how many times his parents told him that the Krampuses
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weren't real, he just didn't believe them. Sometimes when he
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was out chopping wood behind the house, he felt like
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something in the woods was watching him. Sometimes he swore
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he heard giggling and hissing coming from between the trees.
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He was sure that it was the Krampuses waiting to
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drag him to hell. The night of the festivities wound
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down and the men in town removed their Krampus suits
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Andreas finally felt like he could calm down enough to
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go to bed. He snuggled under the covers in his
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small bedroom beneath the stairs of his family's home. He
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watched the glow from the fireplace in the living room
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cast shadows through the door and across his wall. The
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light calmed him, easing his fears about the Krampuses. But
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just as he was about to drift off to sleep,
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he noticed something strange. the light from the living room
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was getting brighter. It was no longer the soft glow
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of a fireplace, but the bright, golden glow of something otherworldly.
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The light grew until it was practically blinding. Andreas jumped
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from his bed and he ran out into the living room.
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And there, in front of the fireplace, an old man
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with a long white beard and bright red robe appeared.
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He had a large, open book in one hand and
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a staff with a cross in the other. Andreas instantly
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recognized him as none other than Saint Nicholas. He realized
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that he had come to give him presents. Andreas ran forward,
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but Saint Nicholas held up a hand to stop him. First,
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he needed to read from his book to determine what
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sins and what good deeds Andreas had committed throughout the year.
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If he had done more good than bad, he would
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get presents. But if not, Andreas turned, hearing a sudden
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scratching at the door. Long shadows were cast by the
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moonlight through the windows, creating silhouettes of the one thing
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Andreas feared above all. But before he could scream, Nicholas
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started to sing. God's greetings all within the house. I'm
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friend to all, Saint Nicholas. Have no fear, just look
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at me. No wild stranger here you see. My coming
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marks the year's near end. This forest man my basket tends.
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deeds good and bad we must review. With ringing bells
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comes Krampus too. What brings him joy brings terror to you.
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And then the door burst open. Two actual live Krampuses
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stood in the doorway, more horrible than Andreas could have
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ever imagined. They weren't anything like the fake ones from
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the parade. Their faces weren't covered by masks. They had
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these big, Black eyes with glowing red irises. Long, sharp
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noses pointed downwards from the center of their faces. And
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worst of all, they had massive, wide mouths like some
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kind of unholy clowns. Mouths lined with sharp yellow teeth. Writhing,
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forked tongues slithered from between these teeth, anxious to get
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a taste of Andreas. And above all, they had short,
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stubby horns. Nothing like the majestic animal horns from the
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costumes at the parade. Their bodies were covered in bristling
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black hair like a bull's. Their muscular arms ended in
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00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:58.420
twitching hands with thick, sharp black claws at the end
470
00:26:58.460 --> 00:27:02.309
of each fingertip. And they had legs like goats, bent
471
00:27:02.390 --> 00:27:06.049
backwards at the knee, ending in charcoal black hooves. The
472
00:27:06.069 --> 00:27:09.430
Krampuses raced towards Andreas. He tried to duck underneath his
473
00:27:09.470 --> 00:27:12.309
coffee table, but each one grabbed him by an ankle
474
00:27:12.410 --> 00:27:16.170
and dragged him screaming out in front of his fireplace. St.
475
00:27:16.210 --> 00:27:20.289
Nicholas stood firm, reading from his book. He read Andreas's
476
00:27:20.349 --> 00:27:23.589
good deeds, how he helped his father out around his shop,
477
00:27:23.950 --> 00:27:26.309
how he cleaned his room, how he was kind to
478
00:27:26.349 --> 00:27:30.000
his friends. But St. Nicholas also read about his sins
479
00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:32.740
from the year. The time he stole a candy bar
480
00:27:32.799 --> 00:27:36.319
from a market stall. The time he cursed after stubbing
481
00:27:36.380 --> 00:27:39.980
his toe. The time when, just earlier today, he looked
482
00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:43.690
at a maiden with lust in his heart. The Krampuses
483
00:27:43.769 --> 00:27:47.210
were overjoyed to hear all this. They dragged him further
484
00:27:47.250 --> 00:27:50.069
towards the fireplace, so close that Andreas could feel the
485
00:27:50.170 --> 00:27:53.089
flames on his skin. They hoisted him to his knees
486
00:27:53.210 --> 00:27:56.109
and held his face right next to the fire. The
487
00:27:56.190 --> 00:28:00.460
flame's filled his field of view. Andreas stared into them
488
00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:05.039
and found his mind transported across space and time. Within
489
00:28:05.099 --> 00:28:09.579
that small fireplace, he caught a glimpse of infinite suffering
490
00:28:09.680 --> 00:28:12.420
in a dimension separate from our own. It was a
491
00:28:12.509 --> 00:28:16.170
portal to hell now, and the Krampuses could not wait
492
00:28:16.349 --> 00:28:19.789
to throw him in it. But then, Andreas heard the
493
00:28:19.890 --> 00:28:22.779
shrill sound of a whistle. He was pulled away from
494
00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:25.539
the fire, only to find St. Nicholas was the one
495
00:28:25.640 --> 00:28:28.119
with the whistle held to his lips. It was a
496
00:28:28.440 --> 00:28:32.420
pleasant and melodic sound, but the Krampuses immediately stopped and
497
00:28:32.480 --> 00:28:35.859
covered their ears. They quickly ran to St. Nicholas' side,
498
00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:39.019
cowering and quivering at the foot of his robes. St.
499
00:28:39.059 --> 00:28:43.150
Nicholas had weighed Andreas' deeds, both good and bad, and
500
00:28:43.230 --> 00:28:48.240
found him worthy. It was time for his presence. Andreas
501
00:28:48.299 --> 00:28:52.569
trembled as he
accepted the gifts, some chocolates, some dried fruit, socks.
502
00:28:53.250 --> 00:28:56.549
He could hardly believe how quickly his luck had changed.
503
00:28:57.190 --> 00:29:00.420
But as St. Nicholas and his companions faded from view,
504
00:29:00.920 --> 00:29:05.140
the evil creatures waved mischievously. There was always next year.
505
00:29:05.720 --> 00:29:08.619
So Andreas vowed right then and there, for the next
506
00:29:08.619 --> 00:29:13.880
365 days, he would be a good boy. Ever since
507
00:29:14.000 --> 00:29:17.160
the ancient Europeans gave up the worship of Perchta and
508
00:29:17.220 --> 00:29:21.240
her Perchton, they have instead observed a tradition wherein locals
509
00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:24.480
dress up as Krampuses in service of St. Nicholas. And
510
00:29:24.599 --> 00:29:28.369
this even continues to this very day. In Austria, the
511
00:29:28.589 --> 00:29:31.769
house visit is an important part of this tradition. After
512
00:29:31.829 --> 00:29:35.009
parading through the streets, Krampuses are invited along with St.
513
00:29:35.049 --> 00:29:38.630
Nicholas to visit homes and weigh children's good deeds versus
514
00:29:38.670 --> 00:29:41.670
their bad deeds. They can also be accompanied by female
515
00:29:41.789 --> 00:29:44.930
angels and and a woodsman who does the actual passing
516
00:29:44.990 --> 00:29:47.750
out of gifts. Sometimes St. Nick will recite good and
517
00:29:47.769 --> 00:29:50.630
bad deeds from the child whispered to them by their parents,
518
00:29:50.869 --> 00:29:52.490
but more often than not, the child just has to
519
00:29:52.509 --> 00:29:54.170
sing a song or recite a poem and then they
520
00:29:54.210 --> 00:29:56.430
get a gift. But then just as St. Nick gets
521
00:29:56.490 --> 00:29:59.690
ready to leave, the Krampuses attack, jumping all around the house,
522
00:29:59.769 --> 00:30:02.809
pretending like they're about to knock over whatever piece of
523
00:30:02.849 --> 00:30:06.450
furniture the kid is hiding behind. And then St. Nick
524
00:30:06.470 --> 00:30:10.309
blows his whistle and the assistants step in, stopping the Krampuses.
525
00:30:10.990 --> 00:30:13.289
In the 21st century, many people all over the world
526
00:30:13.329 --> 00:30:16.619
have learned about these strange traditions through the internet. That's
527
00:30:16.859 --> 00:30:19.200
how we over here learned about them. And a whole
528
00:30:19.279 --> 00:30:21.900
new wave of Krampus mania has swept over the globe,
529
00:30:22.279 --> 00:30:26.480
kind of reinvigorating the character for a new century. Commercial
530
00:30:26.640 --> 00:30:30.180
Krampus events have multiplied in recent years to attract tourists.
531
00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:33.660
And the virality of Krampus even led to a movie
532
00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:36.420
that was released in 2015 that I quite enjoy, if
533
00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:40.599
I'm being honest. But though Krampus might seem horrible to us,
534
00:30:41.000
--> 00:30:43.740
and some of these traditions seem to border on child
535
00:30:43.759 --> 00:30:46.359
abuse a little bit, they hearken all the way back
536
00:30:46.500 --> 00:30:50.460
to the ancient identities of different European ethnic groups. Austrians
537
00:30:50.500 --> 00:30:53.900
in particular are a very proud people who survived the
538
00:30:53.940 --> 00:30:58.809
conversion to Catholicism, centuries of medieval warfare, and an invasion
539
00:30:58.910 --> 00:31:01.250
in both World War I and World War II. Krampus
540
00:31:01.289 --> 00:31:03.990
events are a way for them to reassert their cultural
541
00:31:04.089 --> 00:31:08.359
identity after the Years of outside influences trying to force
542
00:31:08.400 --> 00:31:12.039
them to change. And much of today's dark holiday folklore
543
00:31:12.299 --> 00:31:15.319
might seem like the antithesis of the Christmas spirit to us.
544
00:31:15.579 --> 00:31:18.250
But for many Europeans, it's nostalgic. And it makes them
545
00:31:18.289 --> 00:31:20.450
think of all the wonderful traditions that have been passed
546
00:31:20.490 --> 00:31:24.130
down from generation to generation over hundreds and hundreds of years.
547
00:31:24.599 --> 00:31:27.759
And that... is why I love learning about dark history.
548
00:31:27.940 --> 00:31:30.880
It's not just the dark origins of Christmas. It's the
549
00:31:30.940 --> 00:31:34.200
preservation of folklore and tradition. And you get to see
550
00:31:34.279 --> 00:31:37.440
how much of it has changed and warped over time
551
00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:42.490
so that these pagan beliefs could remain embedded in Christmas traditions.
552
00:31:43.069 --> 00:31:46.049
And for parents everywhere, it teaches their children to be
553
00:31:46.089 --> 00:31:49.269
good unless they want to be gutted or dragged to
554
00:31:49.289 --> 00:31:52.420
the pits of hell. But What about you guys? What
555
00:31:52.539 --> 00:31:55.579
is your favorite holiday tradition? No matter what holiday it is,
556
00:31:55.599 --> 00:31:58.339
I love diving into the dark history of these. So
557
00:31:58.380 --> 00:32:00.839
maybe I'll do another episode on that in the future.
558
00:32:01.289 --> 00:32:03.509
And that is all I have for you for this
559
00:32:03.549 --> 00:32:05.390
week's episode. Thank you so much for joining me. I
560
00:32:05.470 --> 00:32:07.630
hope you learned something as we got into the dark
561
00:32:07.670 --> 00:32:10.430
history of Christmas. I learned so much doing this episode.
562
00:32:10.910 --> 00:32:13.630
I really, really, really love episodes like this. You can
563
00:32:13.690 --> 00:32:15.630
always suggest me other types of folklore that you want
564
00:32:15.650 --> 00:32:17.319
to hear on this show. I love hearing from the
565
00:32:17.359 --> 00:32:19.900
community on this. Next week, I'm going to be diving
566
00:32:19.980 --> 00:32:24.690
into We'll call it two kind of cozy Christmas mysteries
567
00:32:24.730 --> 00:32:27.019
that I want to tell you about. So please join
568
00:32:27.039 --> 00:32:30.880
me here for that. And until next time, stay curious
569
00:32:31.279 --> 00:32:38.039
and leave out some porridge for Perchta. Heart Starts Pounding
570
00:32:38.099 --> 00:32:40.000
is written and produced by me, Kayla Moore. Heart Starts
571
00:32:40.019 --> 00:32:42.500
Pounding is also produced by Matt Brown. Additional research and
572
00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:46.200
writing by Greg Castro. Sound design and mix by Peachtree Sound.
573
00:32:46.579 --> 00:32:49.410
Special thanks to Travis Dunlap, Grayson Jernigan, the team at WME,
574
00:32:49.490 --> 00:32:52.130
and Ben Jaffe. Have a heart-pounding story or a case request?
575
00:32:52.369 --> 00:32:54.079
Check out heartstartspounding.com.