The customs of the holiday season, which include St. Nicholas Day, New Years Day, and Epiphany, as well as Christmas, often incorporate earlier pagan traditions that have been appropriated and adapted for contemporary use. 

又到了各种节日纷至沓来的时节，圣尼古拉斯节，新年，洗礼节，还有圣诞节。这些节日的风俗习惯和早期异教徒的传统相结合，它们的正确打开方式变得越来越现代化。

Customs that encourage little children to be good so as to deserve their Christmas gifts often come with a dark side: the punishment you'll receive from a monster or evil being of some sort if you aren't good! These nefarious characters vary from place to place, and they go by many different names and images.

因为它们变成了鼓励孩子好好表现才能得到圣诞礼物，有表现好的自然也有表现不好的，如果孩子表现不好，就会受到来自一个怪兽的惩罚。这些凶恶怪兽因各个地方的不同而有着不同的名字和形象。（下面我们就一起来看看~）

1. KRAMPUS

圣诞恶老人

As a tool to encourage good behavior in children, Santa serves as the carrot, and Krampus is the stick. Krampus is the evil demon anti-Santa, or maybe his evil twin. Krampus Night is celebrated on December 5, the eve of St. Nicholas Day. Public celebrations that night have many Krampuses walking the streets, looking for people to beat. Alcohol is also involved. Injuries in recent years have led to some reforms, such as requiring all Krampuses to wear numbers so they may identified in case of overly violent behavior.

Krampus是让孩子变乖的利器，如果说圣诞老人是糖衣，那它就是炮弹。Krampus是恶魔版的反圣诞老人，或者也许是圣诞老人的邪恶双胞胎。而Krampus之夜的庆祝活动是12月5日，也就是圣尼古拉斯节的前夜。在公众庆祝该节的当天晚上，会有许多乔装的Krampus走在大街上，来找人开打。喝酒的问题是少不了的。由于近年来各类伤害事件的发生，现在桥装的Krampus都会被编上号码方便辨认，以防过激暴力事件的发生。

2. JÓLAKÖTTURINN

冰岛猫怪

Jólakötturinn is the Icelandic Yule Cat or Christmas Cat. He is not a nice cat. In fact, he might eat you. This character is tied to an Icelandic tradition in which those who finished all their work on time received new clothes for Christmas, while those who were lazy did not (although this is mainly a threat). To encourage children to work hard, parents told the tale of the Yule Cat, saying that Jólakötturinn could tell who the lazy children were because they did not have at least one new item of clothing for Christmas—and these children would be sacrificed to the Yule Cat. This reminder tends to spur children into doing their chores!

Jólakötturinn是冰岛的圣诞猫。它可不是一只温顺的猫。事实上，它有可能把你吃掉。这只猫和冰岛的传统有很大的关系，那些准时完成作业的孩子在圣诞节的时候会得到新衣服，而那些懒惰分子就没有啦（尽管通常都是干打雷不下雨的空威胁）。为了鼓励孩子们努力学习，家长们会给他们讲圣诞猫的故事，学习懒惰分子在圣诞节不但不会得到一件衣服，而且还会被圣诞猫吃掉。这个故事还被用来鼓励孩子自己做的家务。

3. FRAU PERCHTA

佩希塔夫人

Tales told in Germany and Austria sometimes feature a witch named Frau Perchta who hands out both rewards and punishments during the 12 days of Christmas (December 25 through Epiphany on January 6). She is best known for her gruesome punishment of the sinful: She will rip out your internal organs and replace them with garbage. The ugly image of Perchta may show up Christmas processions in Austria, somewhat like Krampus.Perchta's story is thought to have descended from a legendary Alpine goddess of nature, who tends the forest most of the year and deals with humans only during Christmas. In modern celebrations, Perchta or a close relation may show up in processions during Fastnacht, the Alpine festival just before Lent. There may be some connection between Frau Perchta and the Italian witch La Befana, but La Befana isn't really a monster: she's an ugly but good witch who leaves presents.

流传于德国和奥地利的一个故事，在圣诞节和洗礼节之间的12天（12.5-1.6）有一个名叫Frau Perchta的女巫，她会给人奖励或者惩罚。最为人所知的是，对于有罪之人严酷的惩罚：她会取出他们的内脏，然后在他们的身体中填充垃圾。这个面容丑陋的女巫会出现在奥利地的圣诞游行中。关于这个女巫的故事，有人认为是从阿尔卑斯自然女神的故事演变而来，因为女神会在圣诞节对所有人一年中发生的事情进行秋后算账。在现如今的庆祝仪式上，Perchta(阿尔卑斯女神)或者她的亲信会出现在忏悔日的游行队伍中，忏悔日是阿尔卑斯节日中大斋节之前的一个节日。Frau Perchta和意大利的一个名叫La Befana女巫差不多，但是后者不是怪物，她虽然面貌丑陋但是是一个会送礼物的善良女巫。

4. BELSNICKEL

贝斯尼克

Belsnickel is a male character from southwestern German lore who traveled to the the United States and survives in Pennsylvania Dutch customs. He comes to children sometime before Christmas, wearing tattered old clothing and raggedy fur. Belsnickel carries a switch to frighten children and candy to reward them for good behavior. In modern visits, the switch is only used for noise, and to warn children they still have time to be good before Christmas. Then all the children get candy, if they are polite about it. Knecht Ruprecht and Ru Klaas are similar characters from German folklore who dole out beatings to bad children, leaving St. Nicholas to reward good children with gifts.

Belsnickel是一个男性形象的怪物，他的传说从德国西南部流传到美国，是宾州德裔传统故事。一个穿着旧衣，打着补丁，裹着破旧的毛皮的男人，在圣诞前夕出现在孩子们中。他有一个鞭子，用来吓唬不乖的小孩子，同时用糖来奖励表现好的孩子。现如今那个鞭子只是用来放出噪音来提醒表现不好的小朋友，在圣诞节前还有机会好好改正。如果所有孩子都表现不错的话，那么他们都可以得到糖果。还有一个叫Ru Klaas和Belsnickel在德国民间故事中的形象差不多，也会惩罚坏孩子，让圣尼古拉斯用礼物来奖励好孩子。

5. HANS TRAPP

汉斯·特拉普

Hans Trapp is another "anti-Santa" who hands out punishment to bad children in the Alsace and Lorraine regions of France. The legend says that Trapp was a real man, a rich, greedy, and evil man, who worshiped Satan and was excommunicated from the Catholic Church. He was exiled into the forest where he preyed upon children, disguised as a scarecrow with straw jutting out from his clothing. He was about to eat one boy he captured when he was struck by lightning and killed—a punishment of his own from God. Still, he visits young children before Christmas, dressed as a scarecrow, to scare them into good behavior.

在法国的Alsace和 Lorraine地区，名叫Hans Trapp的怪物是另一个圣诞老人的死对头，它会出手惩罚坏孩子。传说Trapp确有其人，他是一个富有、贪婪、邪恶的人，他崇拜恶魔撒旦，被天主教堂开除教籍，流放在森林里。他将自己的衣服装满稻草，装扮成稻草人。就在他要吃自己捉到的一个小男孩时，突然有一道闪电把他打死，这是上天对他的惩罚。但他现在还是会装扮成稻草人的样子，在圣诞节前出现在小孩子面前，吓唬他们要乖乖表现。

6. PÈRE FOUETTARD

鞭子之父

The French legend of Père Fouettard, whose name translates to "Father Whipper," begins with an evil butcher who craved children to eat. He (or his wife) lured three boys into his butcher shop, where he killed, chopped, and salted them. St. Nicholas came to the rescue, resurrected the boys, and took custody of the butcher. The captive butcher became Père Fouettard, St. Nicholas' servant whose job it is to dispense punishment to bad children on St. Nicholas Day.

在法国有一个Père Fouettard,的故事，翻译过来就叫“鞭子之父”。故事始于一个邪恶的屠夫，要把小孩切了吃。他（要不就是他的妻子）将三个男孩诱骗至屠厂，屠夫将他们杀害，剁块，腌制。圣尼古拉斯赶来营救，让他们复活，带走屠夫。屠夫成了圣尼古拉斯的仆人，名叫Père Fouettard，他会在圣尼古拉斯节那天来惩罚坏孩子。

7. THE YULE LADS

圣诞山妖

The Jólasveinar, or Yule Lads, are 13 Icelandic trolls, who each have a name and distinct personality. In ancient times, they stole things and caused trouble around Christmastime, so they were used to scare children into behaving, like the Yule Cat. However, the 20th century brought tales of the benevolent Norwegian figure Julenisse (Santa Claus), who brought gifts to good children. The traditions became mingled, until the formerly devilish Jólasveinar became kind enough to leave gifts in shoes that children leave out ... if they are good boys and girls.

The Jólasveinar，或者冰岛小伙，就是冰岛13山妖，他们每个人都有一个名字，而且性格迥异。在早期，圣诞节的时候他们偷东西，而且到处惹麻烦，所以他们一直被用来吓唬小孩，就像圣诞猫一样。然而在二十世纪，好心肠的瑞典人把他们塑造成了圣诞老人给小孩送礼物的故事并流传。传统之间的相互交融，之前十恶不赦的山妖变成了和蔼可亲会在孩子们鞋子里放礼物的人。。。当然只限于好孩子。

8. GRÝLA

山妖之母

All the Yule Lads answer to Grýla, their mother. She predates the Yule Lads in Icelandic legend as the ogress who kidnaps, cooks, and eats children who don't obey their parents. She only became associated with Christmas in the 17th century, when she was assigned to be the mother of the Yule Lads. According to legend, Grýla had three different husbands and 72 children, all who caused trouble ranging from harmless mischief to murder. As if the household wasn't crowded enough, the Yule Cat also lives with Grýla. This ogress is so much of a troublemaker that the Onion blamed her for the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano.

所有的圣诞山妖（之前提到的）都听从于Grýla他们的母亲。在冰岛传说中，她比冰岛13巨魔出现的要早，她是一个绑架，将捉来的小孩子做成菜，并吃掉她们的女妖魔。直到17世纪它被认为是13巨魔的母亲，才与圣诞节有关系。故事中她有三个丈夫，以及72个孩子，每个都惹麻烦，从无伤大雅的恶作剧到谋杀。就好像整个故事里面的人物不够多一样，圣诞猫也和这个女妖魔住在一起。鉴于她是个无恶不作女妖魔，洋葱新闻认为她是导致2010年Eyjafjallajökull火山爆发的罪魁祸首。