Christoph Waltz Explains How Terrifying Christmas Is in Austria

Have you ever heard of Krampus?

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Image via Complex Original
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As you're preparing yourself for Christmas and complaining about all the shopping you have to do, it's important to slow down and appreciate how good you have it. You live in America, where the holiday is all about bloated capitalism. In Austria the holiday is apparently about scaring the shit out of children. 

Let Christoph Waltz explain. 

On The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon the Austrian actor discussed his home country's tradition of Krampus. St. As the story goes, St. Nicholas' beastly assistant goes around the country with a stick and bag to threaten young children. Those who don't behave get thrown in the bag, tortured, and dragged away into the black forest. 

Fallon even showed a Krampus doll and illustration to prove Waltz wasn't making the whole terrifying thing up. 

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To make things even more frightening a bunch of drunk Austrians dress up as Krampus and harass their communities in what is somehow a worse version of Santacon

Yeah, we'll take our version of Christmas. Thank you. 

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