This is my favourite Krampus postcard and the image I have used for past invites and theming.
The German handwriting reads (yes, I deciphered it myself):
Warst nicht brav
drum hoppla-hopp,
Kommt das Krampus
im Galopp.
Which, If my horribly rusty German (and some help from online German dictionaries) can be trusted, translates to:
If you were not well behaved
by being spapdash,
Krampus will come
a-galloping.
Hoppla-hopp translates to “slapdash” or lazy-in-effort, etc. It also comes up as a name for children’s playgrounds. Any German speakers out there care to chime in? “Hoppla!” as an emphatic also means “Whoops!” or “Uh-Oh!”
Whoops! Krampus is a-galloping to take you to Hell, kiddies! Now be good!
You can see Krampus riding black birch branches and carrying his chain. Notice his long tongue and goat horns. He is covered in fur and appears as a satyr-devil. These themes will continue to come up as we go through the cards.
“What kind of kinky christmas spirit is that?”
“It is germanic in origin.”