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At Houma’s Christmas-themed parade Friday night parents brought children eager for Santa and ready to greet the Snowflake Queen.
And then an unexpected visitor scared some to tears.
An appearance of the Krampus, a punishing, horned mythological Germanic creature with pre-Christian roots, who cages and eats naughty kids, caused children to bury their heads in their mothers’ bosoms and in some cases hide behind them altogether.
Anne Picou, director of the Terrebonne Parish Main Street program, which sponsors the annual parade, said Saturday that the Krampus affair as well as some other complaints have prompted her to seek help from Parish President-elect Gordon Dove after he takes office in January, to set up a committee that will review the parade’s rules and regulations.
“I get it, I definitely get it,” Picou said. “I do get that [Krampus] got people upset.”
The parade requires an application and a review of ground rules for those wishing to participate. Picou said she had no idea of the reaction the float and candy-distributing characters would cause.
Melanie Daigle, a Houma mom, brought her 12-year-old daughter, Emilie, and twin 3-year-old nieces, I’niah and Mariah.
“I was expecting the normal regular Christmas parade with Christmas music and some Christmas characters and the next thing you know these evil devil things pop up,” Melanie said. “It freaked me out as an adult.”
Emilie said the twins were asking her questions when the creatures approached.
“Their faces looked really worried,” said Emilie, who covered the eyes of her cousins as the furry creatures neared.
And then Emilie she did the same as the furry creatures passed.
Some who attended the parade were accepting, even approving of the Krampus, whose eponymous movie is currently playing at Houma’s AMC movie theater.
“I thought it was cool adding something to the Christmas parade that not many people knew about until the release of the movie,” said Kevin Chaisson, a body piercer and tattoo remover at Houma Black Pearl on Corporate Drive. “It’s an historical look at something that people haven’t thought about in a long time. Showing a way people told stories and believed in the past and the affect of that on people today. What’s not awesome about that! The artist that made him also did a great job.”
But Brittney Lebeouf doesn’t see it that way. She brought her 4-year-old son, Liam, and a 9-year-old niece, Sydney Cuccia, to the parade.
“He was trembling with his head in my chest … He wouldn’t even look up until three or four floats down the line,” she said of Liam. “I was scared, these were devilish costumes. This is not right. This is Christmas, that’s not what this is for. This is for Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus and candy canes and listening to ‘Jingle Bell Rock.’”
Those responses were not isolated. The Times interviewed close to a dozen people who attended and shared similar stories.
Rebecca Landry said her 6-year-old son, Micah, hid behind her and whimpered.
“The other one I turned around and distracted,” she said of her 3-year-old, Judah.
“Micah was asking me about what it was,” she said of the Krampus. “He thought it was a snowman and didn’t know why there would be a scary snowman. We shouldn’t have had children scared. Fear doesn’t belong in Christmas.”
Some parents from households with strong Christian tenets – already pushing the envelope by attending a secular Christmas parade – expressed concerns that the Krampus appearance was further proof that a holiday dear to them has been hijacked, part of what some have described as a war on Christmas. Others drew immediate comparisons to the devil himself.
Derek and Nicole Dunn said they didn’t expect much from the parade that relates to their Christian faith. But they also didn’t expect what they saw.
“You get into an advertisement issue where people are expecting something else, and that comes across as dishonest to the community,” said Derek Dunn. “The pictures on the website call it a little Cajun Christmas with pictures on the website of kids having fun … It is about what is being advertised to the community and what is being delivered.”
Houma real estate agent Randolph Bazet, who submitted the Krampus float application to the parish, was asked about the decision to feature the devilish punisher but refused to comment.
A member of his group, George Peterson, was contacted via Facebook and asked about the Krampus theme of the float.
“My kids and I had a great time participating in the parade and introducing an Old World European Christmas tradition of St. Nicholas and the Krampus,” Peterson replied. He refused to answer further questions, explaining that he did not “want to further negative reactions.”
Krampus parades are at this point ubiquitous in U.S. towns and cities. A longstanding festival called Krampusnacht is held in the creature’s native Austria. But this year, according to an article in Smithsonian Magazine, there was talk of cancellation to keep Syrian refugees from being badly frightened. A decision instead was made to reach out to the Syrians and explain the custom instead; a courtesy some in Houma say they wish had been extended here.
Gordon Dove, who is preparing to assume office as from current Parish President Michel Claudet in January, said he was made aware of the concerns, although he didn’t see the Krampus. He approves of Picou’s desire to review the parade rules.
“We need to keep it just to the Christmas thing where you celebrate the birth of Christ and I don’t think you need Halloween costumes on it,” Dove said. “The constitution says there is freedom of expression, but it should stay a Christmas parade and not have a monster that will scare people. We will definitely revise it. I don’t remember Krampus riding with Santa on the sleigh. I remember Rudolph and Dancer and Prancer. We need to keep Krampus out of Christmas in Terrebonne Parish.”
