The controversial Krampus parade begins in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – After days of controversy, large crowds arrived in the historic King William District Thursday evening to take part in San Antonio’s first-ever Krampus parade, an event that some local Christian and Catholic groups denounced as “evil.”

The event is based on German lore surrounding Krampus, a creature that punishes misbehaving children and is considered the frightening antithesis of the cheerful Santa Claus. Although the legend is decidedly less joyful than traditional holiday events, there was still an atmosphere of celebration at Thursday’s procession, which included various revelers wearing Krampus’s horns, fangs and cloven hooves, as it departed from the Arthouse at Blue Star Bells went off, horns and chains rang in the air.

“The opposite of St. Nick,” said one parade-goer. “He comes and takes all the bad children and puts them in his basket.”

Organizers estimated that nearly 10,000 participants took part in the parade and called it “an epic success.”

“It was the online support and presence of the citizens of San Antonio that made this parade a part of history,” said Grand Marshal Bob Crittenden. “Ask anyone who was there, they will tell you they witnessed history. The Valkyries (parade organizers) reached out to Southtown businesses for feedback. Everyone reports huge sales, full houses and new customers they had never seen before.”

These participants responded to some church leaders’ insistence not to “cramp our Christmas” and said the city has room to celebrate different cultures. While organizers of the parade did not make themselves available for comment on Thursday, they previously told KENS 5 that they hoped to make it an annual event.

Families and young people were among the parade participants. Organizers of the parade featuring Hermann Sons Rathskeller Bar declared the event PG-13 and left it up to parents to decide whether to bring their children.

“We just had the Wurstfest in New Braunfels,” said one attendee wearing a Krampus mask. “The German community is right here in the King William District and we love it.”

But not everyone in San Antonio was keen on the idea.

Several Christian leaders in the city of Alamo tried to cancel the parade, and the Archdiocese of San Antonio condemned it.

On Thursday morning, hours before the Krampus parade began, the San Antonio Family Association went so far as to call it a celebration of evil.

“How terrible it is here in the City of Saint Anthony,” said Patrick Von Dohlen, president of the San Antonio Family Association. “How tragic and scandalous it is that we stand by and accept this as another good reason to party. We are here to show love to children, to love them to an abundant life, not to scare them.” “

A Krampus who made the King William rounds later in the evening noted the city’s pride in hosting the country’s largest Day of the Dead celebration and said San Antonio should host other cultural events as well.

“If that’s not your thing, you don’t have to come,” he said. “But we are a hodgepodge of people. So why not everyone celebrate?”