Last weekend I started a Xmas movie marathon with a number of movies I had chosen and listed a week before. No Miracle on the 34th street or jolly Jack Frost for me though! I’m talking about horror slasher Xmas movies here! Blood, gore, screams, burnt candy and cannibalistic Santas – the real deal!
After watching a serial killer Father Christmas butcher bare-breasted bimbos and lusty layman in ‘Silent Night, Deadly Night’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Night,_Deadly_Night), admittedly a B-movie, I discovered a real find. A movie which I honestly don’t know why is not more well-known – there isn’t even the English-speaking version, in fact it’s almost entirely in Finnish.
The movie is called ‘Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale’: 
Set in Lapland, it recounts how what we know as Santa Claus was once a great and powerful monster, whose job was to PUNISH children. This cannibalistic being was dragged into a hole and encased in ice for millions of years, that is, until a batch of greedy Americans started digging him up. Of course, the local Laplanders smell something funny, and one boy in particular rises to save the day. It was however, the depiction of Father Xmas (not to mention his ‘elves’ – bent old men with an evil aura) who interested me! Now THAT’s what I call originality!!
Intrigued, I proceeded to research a bit and came up with quite a lot of info about the origins of the Xmas Father legend. He was in fact a pagan representation of the season of winter, and had nothing at all to do with either Christianity, jolly old men, or presents! I was so interested, that I wrote an article and sent it to EVE, the magazine I work for part-time, in order for it to be published during Yule-time. I will upload the link when it’s on.
Searching further, I also discovered the legend of an entity called KRAMPUS, who seems to be Father Xmas’ evil twin, ‘a beast-like creature from the folklore of Alpine countries thought to punish children during the Christmas season who had misbehaved, in contrast with Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved ones with gifts. Krampus is said to capture particularly naughty children in his sack and carry them away to his lair.’ – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus
Darkly Dreaming Moonsong 