Weird and Terrifying Christmas Traditions

Krampus is the king of weird European holiday customs. In case you haven't heard, this mythical creature is a horned Christmas demon with a child-heavy diet, who, for whatever reason, happens to be pals with St. Nicholas. When not eating naughty children, Krampus can be found beating disobedient youths with whips and chains. Some people think the demon originated in Norse mythology. Today, the legend of St. Nick's demonic frenemy remains strong in European countries, including Germany, Austria, and Hungary. In some regions, locals dress as shaggy, goat-like monsters and take to the streets for a (probably) booze-soaked "Krampus Run."

The Yule Cat is a giant, fashion-obsessed cat that emerges from the Icelandic hills to feast on children who are not wearing new clothes on Christmas Eve. The cat is the teenage mean girl of Christmas monsters. If you're not sporting fresh fashion, it will devour you. To avoid Yule Cat, buy some cool new clothes.

Unlike some of these other weird Christmas traditions, which are rooted in ancient Pagan rituals, Boston's Santa Speedo Run was invented in 2000 by a group of friends in a Boston bar. Every December, throngs of Bostonians don thongs, Santa hats, swimwear, and American Apparel leotards and run through the streets like drunken exhibitionist elves. Sure, you might see a butt cheek or two, but don't get the wrong idea. This is a fundraising event that supports the Play Ball! Foundation, so it's all very respectable. The run has arrived in other cities, too, like Atlanta and Annapolis.

In Norway, on Christmas Eve, locals hide all the brooms in the house. This is to prevent witches from breaking into the house the night before Christmas to steal brooms and wreak havoc, as witches do. In case your young children need more reasons to stay awake all night on Christmas Eve, tell them witches are trying to break into your home to take cleaning supplies.

Tió de Nadal (also known as the "Caga Tió") is a Catalan Christmas log that poops presents. In some regions of Spain, locals draw a face on the log and give it some stick legs. The anthropomorphic log is fed nightly and kept warm with a blanket, in accordance with Catalan mythology. But the log's comfort is fleeting. Beat your log the night before Christmas, and command it to defecate presents. After abusing the log, you can retrieve your discharged Christmas gifts from beneath the blanket.

The German and Pennsylvania Dutch legend of Belsnickel is one of nighttime horror and fear … and sometimes little gifts of fruit or candy if you're good. Think of Belsnickel as an evil, unkempt Santa. Dressed in old clothes and fur, Belsnickel brings small presents to well-behaved children and abuses or kidnaps the bad ones. Watch this clip of Dwight Schrute of The Office dressed as Belsnickel for more information.

It's a Christmas tradition for Swedes to construct Yule goats out of straw. In 1966, a giant straw goat was erected in Gälve. Locals burnt it to the ground on New Year's Eve night. Thus, the violent ravaging of the Yule goat became a yearly tradition in the Swedish city. For decades, the goat has been set ablaze (dozens of times), hit by a Volvo, and even targeted for kidnapping by helicopter. Officials aren't having it. They want the goat to live, and they've even hired a security firm and set up surveillance cameras, to no avail. Follow the goat's struggle for survival this year on Twitter.

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