The Scary Masks of Krampus

Last March, as part of a greater exhibit on masks, our MSU Museum had a lovely small exhibit on "The Scary Mask of Krampus.

In Southern Germany and Austria, St. Nicholas comes to visit children on December 5 to see if they have been well behaved and done their schoolwork.

If they have, they receive a treat. If not, they have to answer to Krampus, the devilish and frightening traveling companion of the good St. Nicholas.

The exhibited depicted the good St. Nick and the evil Krampus.

Also included were other Santa masks, advertising and ephemera. (The mask below is from J.C. Penney Company.)

The beautifully curated exhibit (by the museum's Val Berryman, the ultimate holiday fan!) all featured masks (a theme at the museum this year) and other displayed items had some relationship to the story of Krampus or to Santa in general.

Collectively, the exhibit helps tell the story of "Santa" and the advantages of "being good" in cultures around the world. while also emphasizing the merriment and the intrigue of being concealed by a mask.

In Russia, Grandfather Frost is the Russian Version of Santa Claus. He and his granddaughter Snegurochka come to the children on New Year's Eve, rather than Christmas. The travel in a sleigh pulled by three horses.

Grandfather Frost pulls his gifts from a babushka or a scarf he has made into a bag.

The exhibit combines the vintage and the contemporary.

This Krampus mask (above) was made in 2004 in the shop of woodcarver Josef Streitfelder (Berchtesgaden, Germany) by his 26-year-old son, Stefan. Stefan also plays Krampus in the December 5 and 6 Saint Nicholas processions.

Modern day masks reflect Hollywood horror movie demons, such as the one above, made with real goat horns and fur pelts from long-meadow sheep.

Marketers have never been immune to using Santa to their advantage. The mask above was one given to children to promote a Christmas Savings Club at a bank in Auburn, Maine. (1930s/'40s)

This mask (linen-backed paper) was given out by the M&R Show Company of Toledo, Ohio.

This beautifully rendered mask (1920s-30s) advertises Bradley's Knit Wear.

Even restaurants took advantage of the "merry old elf." The menu below was given to children dining at the restaurant in the Strawbridge and Clothiers chain in Pennsylvania and Delaware in the 1940s and '50s.

The menu is printed on the back, with a full meal costing about 50 to 65 cents!

Of course, commercialism in the holidays and using Santa's image to sell is nothing new!

Santa appeared in a Parker Pens ad, while everyone familiar with Whitman Chocolates know they pull the heartstrings to sell candy at the holidays.

Many masks in the display were given as advertising premiums by various businesses, so even children could play Santa Claus. In larger stores, Santa himself handed out the masks. This jolly elf came from Mellingers, a California grocery store, estimated to be late 20th century.

The Book of Magic was a special children's section in the December 25, 1921 edition of the Boston Sunday Advertiser.

It had a two-page spread with an oversized, full color Santa Claus mask. The user would cut it out and mount card board or fabric.

If you have some of these more recent boxes in your stash, consider yourself lucky!

This exhibit not only looked at the older, more traditional masks, but those from contemporary technology as well.

The advent of plastic offered cheap masks, not designed to last more than a season, the one below is late 1960s-70s (Hong Kong).

We started this post talking about Krampus. If you think he's only a character of German and Austrian holiday lore, think again!

The Grinch clearly has Krampus origins and he remains a holiday favorite today.

To see related posts on other MSU Museum holiday exhibits from years past, check out THIS POST (Santa adverting), THIS POST (Holiday Crackers) or THIS ONE (Christmas tea tins).

(My thanks to the MSU Museum, on the campus of Michigan State University. Val Berryman has curated a new exhibit and I hope to get over there in the next week or so, so that I can share it with you! And all the info in this post is from that posted by Val at the site. Thanks!)

Masks -- Something Sweet

And you thought just because I stuck another post or two in there that I was done talking about masks!

Ah, you'll have to endure a few more mask posts over the course of the next year! And here is another.

Do you like this one?

How about this?

Or this one?

Perhaps you'd like to wear this one to a masked ball!!

And if you did, someone might bite your nose off!

You see, these are all made from chocolate!

All of these masks -- and the sculptures on which they are displayed -- were crafted from chocolate for the MSU Museum's annual chocolate party. In addition to having vendors from area candy shops and bakeries offer samples of everything, ranging from mousse to turtles, fudge to cupcakes, truffles to scones -- and everything in between -- a number of pastry chefs create these chocolate sculptures.

I confess, I love a good cooking contest. "Next Food Network Star" is my favorite show on TV and if I happen to turn on and catch "Chopped," "Worst Cooks in America" or "Iron Chef," I am a willing captive. One I always find amazing are the cake challenges, where everyone is working to a theme.

Well, this theme worked big time. I can't tell you who won -- we didn't stay that long.

(After all, all that chocolate can be a bit too much! Really, it can!)

Then there is the panic of "what if I run into my Weight Watchers leader?" (Of course, she'd probably think the same thing!) And I'd probably grab one of those masks, put it on my face and just keep walking!

But it was a delightful event, and I had to share these beautiful creations with you. After all, you deserve something sweet! Or even a rose!

I really need to find some of that metallic looking powder -- beautiful!

What's Your Face Like Today?

In my last post, I wrote about Diana, Princess of Wales, and the exhibit of her gowns and mementos.

Through much of her royal career, Diana wore a mask -- the mask of happiness when she was profoundly sad; the mask of confidence when her world was shaken. Behind that beautiful face and seemingly self-assured presence was a young woman whose world was falling apart. But her mask was simply lovely.

I went to the most wonderful exhibit at the MSU Museum recently -- and I know I'll go back many times more to take in more detail. (It continues for the next year.)

The exhibit is of masks. They represent a number of cultures -- from pop culture...

... to ancient tribal masks from Africa and other countries.

They are monochromatic or colorful ...

... smooth and textured...

...frightening and whimsical.

Masks are used to conceal, to hide; to play with or protect.

The gas mask, for example, has been a staple of war for more than a century.

And really, don't we all wear masks now and then?

Good morning," we say when it's anything but, and we really don't care if the one to whom we say it has a good morning or not. (Perhaps the snipe in us hopes it isn't so good, in all truth.)

You've seen masks -- if you're a parent of a hockey or football player, you're darned glad these are protecting your athletes.

A friend and I were talking recently about the American funeral -- perhaps it is our best coping mechanism when deep in grief that we can smile at someone as graciously as welcoming them at a cocktail party and say, "It's so nice to see you; thank you for coming."

The tears will fall an hour or two later. It is the mask we show.

Whether one looks at masks as being works of art (they are), sociological tools for coping and hiding (they are) or anthropological pieces that help explain a culture (they are that, too), the fact is, we may all be more familiar with masks than we think.

They can transport us to evocative new worlds...

...or shelter us, emotionally, hiding disfigurement, whether physical or emotional.

Do you know what is behind the mask of those closest to you? Are they happy or sad? Really?

What mask are you wearing today?

(The comedy and tragedy masks above fit in nicely with the newest entry at Chopsticks and String -- a wonderful murder mystery by Nicola Upson, in which one of the lead characters is a fictionalized version of mystery writer Josephine Tey!)