The Krampus is an old Christian character from old world Catholic Christmas traditions. The Krampus is one of the variations of St Nicholas’s helpers; a tradition where another character is assigned St Nicholas’s naughty list duties. The Krampus is a horned anthropomorphic goat figure with one human foot and a very long tongue who, in Central and Eastern Alpine folkloric tradition Christianity, is said to accompany Saint Nicholas on visits to children during the night of 5 December, immediately before the Feast of St. Nicholas on 6 December. The Krampus knocks on the doors of children’s homes to warn them to be good, or otherwise he will return on Christmas Eve with St. Nicholas. In this tradition, Saint Nicholas rewards well-behaved children with small gifts, while Krampus punishes badly-behaved ones with birch rods.

Perchta or Berchta ('Bertha'), also commonly known as Percht and other variations, was once known as a goddess in Alpine paganism in the Upper German and also Austrian and Slovenian regions of the Alps. Her name may mean 'the bright one' and is probably related to the name Berchtentag, meaning 'the feast of the Epiphany'. Eugen Mogk provides an alternative etymology, attributing the origin of the name Perchta to the Old High German verb pergan, meaning 'hidden' or 'covered'. The exact origin or time of origin is unknown.