Thank you, National Geographic, for these beautiful and scary-as-fuck images.
The white one at the right in the middle row of small images is the spectre of Death, which apparently accompanies Santa Claus to this one village. That hardly seems fair- “Ho ho ho, little ones! We’ve come to give you presents- and take away your SOULS!!!”
In Germany, Knecht Ruprecht is the one to help St. Nikolaus to bring presents. He is a creature from Hell too, he probably belongs to the wild hunt and to the Rauhnächte.
