‘Tis the season for a European-inspired Christmas with a Gothic aesthetic

Coming across the name “Krampus” years ago made Tania Yager curious. The horned, anthropomorphic figure of central European folklore is known as a counterpart to Saint Nicholas, one who punishes naughty children where St. Nick rewards well-behaved ones. What was this all about?

“I’ve always been fascinated with cultural heritage and looking at other people’s cultures, what they do, genealogy and looking into the past, folklore and storytelling…so I started doing a deep dive,” she says, going on to gorge on books, podcasts, interviewing people, traveling to Europe to do field research, and writing a book that was published earlier this year, “The Allure of Dark Winter Spirits.” “I just really took it upon myself to educate myself, and was fortunate enough to throw myself into a position where I could be in some of these other countries at these time periods and experience what was happening, so that I could bring that home.”

The Wild Hunt of Vista, now in its fourth year, is a Krampus procession held during the annual Dark X-mas Market event in Vista, starting this year at 4 p.m. Saturday on South Citrus Avenue and East Broadway. A Krampuslauf is a traditional parade of Alpine winter spirits that ac...