Seasons Greetings!

I officially leave for home for the holidays tomorrow and will most likely not post anything until my return on January 3rd. Therefore I wanted to leave with a parting Christmas story, compliments of the Swiss tradition. This story was told to me by a few Swiss co-workers and friends

Now most people, despite religious backgrounds, know of Santa Claus, Saint Nick, or Samichlaus as he is fondly referred to in Switzerland. Most people do NOT know of Samichlaus’s “helper” Schmutzli. In Switerzland, Samichlaus comes for his visit on December 6th and hands out toys to those kids who had behaved all year-round. At the same time Schmutzli also comes to town, but for other reasons.

Schmutzli is a man dressed in black/brown robes, with a black face, who carries a switch and/or stick and a sack. He is a man who walks with a limp from childhood injuries. He is also a man who snatches naughty children in the middle of the night and takes them to the forest in his sack to be beaten or to be forced to make toys for the good children (the original child laborer). According some to Swiss, he was actually the murderer of three children, who Saint Nick brought back to life.

Needless to say, every Swiss person I talked to was TERRIFIED of Schmutzli growing up (which might explain why everyone here is so well behaved)! In case you don’t believe me, and reject this fable as an Ange story, see for yourself at Wikipedia…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmutzli

Now Merry Christmas, Happy New Years and Behave, or Schmutzli will come and get you!!