**Finnish Krampus and old goat traditions**
Well, if you've ever wondered where this Santa Claus of ours actually comes from, it all starts with the same old Santa Claus. That is, this hairy guy who is a bit scary, a little bit. Well, this is something that goes all the way back to the 1850s, and yes, all of this can be found there in the collections of the National Museum Agency. But let's imagine this - it's definitely not the nice red Santa Claus you're used to on the roof. It's more of a Krampus-style monster. And not a small thing, but brutally scary, in a pinch.
This old goat mask is made of sheepskin, and it looks just like if it walked up to you on Christmas Eve, you'd put your feet up and run as damn hard as you could. And not a swamp. Krampus and nuttipukki are both characters that used to go from house to house, like getting food and drink, damn it. If you didn't let them, then they might get up in the ass, and you can hear, the Christmas feeling was gone in that moment. Well, these days there probably aren't any more stupid guests who throw booze in their faces and go on a rampage, but that's what it was like back then. And the children were scared by those devils. That's when you wonder why today's goats are so calm and comfortable, it's a thing of the past, no.
And this cramp-like mood doesn't just stay in the past. Take the "Rare Exports" movie from 2010, for example. The Finns made a damn movie where Santa Claus is clearly influenced by Krampus. So this is not a red-dressed goat from a Coca-Cola advertisement, but an ancient monster that was dug up from some ancient grave. It has a bit like a stupid animal skull on its head, and looks like you don't really want to give it gifts, but mostly to hide. And you can imagine how the children had a hard time with the goat, when the goat was more of a nightmare than an uncle handing out gifts.
And this goat thing doesn't end there. In the old days, krippukkis and nuttipakukis roamed around, and they really were such that they didn't require all kinds of things. So food and drink were vital to them, and if you didn't get what you wanted, let it go, then the cottage turned upside down! And yes, it's true that they also got a little to drink, so it's no wonder if the going was really fun and the goats there were drunkenly wandering from house to house. So this is the old, forgotten goat tradition, which also has its roots in the land of Krampus. These were the kind of horn-headed, hairy guys who didn't even smell any piles of presents or nice Christmas atmosphere. It was more of this kind of chaos, where fear and rampage were the thing.
MA Numminen's "Santa Claus Bites and Hits" is one of those stories where this Santa tradition can be seen. That's when the goat comes home screaming and raging, demanding booze and goodies, and well, that's why the whole Christmas is the damn thing. That if anyone was wondering why the goat became such a peaceful gift giver, then it's worth checking out this history of the goat tradition. It is full of chaotic characters who are definitely not the nice, red Santas.
And then this is the kind of stuff that today's punks have removed all the scary stuff from, but the old Krampus side is still haunting there. That's why it's good that today's bucks are sober and sometimes even drive. No one wants to be a drunk squealing truck anymore, like it used to be. There's no point in ruining Christmas by making the goat the worst monster in the whole party.
So that's it - Finland's Santa Claus traditions partly go back to Krampus, and this old nutty goat was something else than the calm gift-giver of today. You can look at those pictures from that museum and think, wow, this tradition has changed quite a lot!
