The Christmas Season is not one we normally associate with vampires. But, according to the Greek Orthodox Church of the Middle Ages, any child born between the dates of Christmas and Epiphany ( January 6th) was considered a Callicantzaro ( Cal-ah-kin-za-ro). The Callicantzaro is often a werewolf in life, but resurrects as a vampire in death. This holiday monster was described as having a black face, red eyes, long ears, clawed hands, and very sharp teeth.
Callicantzaro were thought to be active only during the holiday season, and then return to their graves or the underworld. The central reason they are active at this time is the belief that a Callicantzaro is conceived on March25th – the day the Annunciation, a sacred date on the Christian Calendar. Thus, such children were concerned vulnerable to becoming Callicantzaro.
In true Grinch form, these holiday devils would make mischief, usually pounding on doors throughout a village. They were also claimed to urinate down the chimney to put out the holiday hearth fires. The greedy devils might even steal the Christmas pork roast, like the grinch stealing the “roast beast”. To ward of these holiday ghouls a cross was painted in tar on the front doors to discourage them. Sometimes a cross made from pig bones was nailed to the front of a door. And then there’s good old reliable garlic hung over doors and windows.
Not to be out spooked, in German folklore there is Krampus, a devilish goblin who follows Saint Nicholas around carrying switches for bad children. The Krampus is described as having glowing “Exorcist” style eyes and a long, red lolling tongue. His roots are likely pagan, but he became part of Germanic holiday lore as a boogey-man who exist as a warning about what happens to bad little boys and girls. Krampus remains a big part of the Christmas landscape in Germany and Austria.
My recommended book has to be Clement A Miles Christmas Traditions and Customs( Dover). This is a very rich resource on the topics of holiday folklore. Not only a source on Christmas, it’s also full of great Halloween lore and trivia.. and very readable. This would make a truly ideal stocking stuffer for even the meanest Scrooge. There’s Theresa Bane’s Encyclopedia of Vampire Mythology for those of us who are absolutely sick of the Twilight series and prefer the vampire tales of folklore. Yes this really is the one. I highly recommend it to researchers of Things Undead.