Recently, when the grandkids and I finished a boardgame, the 10-year-old grandson teased the 5-year old, calling him “evil” because he wanted to win the game.
Tears formed in his eyes.
“I’m not evil.”
He seemed unusually upset. But given the message in the song “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and the omniscient Elf perched overhead, children can’t afford to make one slip-up! The naughty ones are punished with switches and ashes, and the nice children are rewarded with gifts.
Many of us have heard Santa Claus originated with a fourth-century individual, known for his generosity to children. The feast day of Saint Nicholas is celebrated on Dec. 6.
Religious, pagan and commercial holidays became conflated in the Christmas celebration as we know it today.
But what is the origin of naughty or nice that causes my younger grandson so much anguish?
In an article in History.Com, Becky Little writes, “Krampus and St. Nick’s other bad boys have their origins in pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Later, they became part of Christian traditions in which St. Nicholas visited children to reward them on December 5 or 6. Around that time, his menacing partner would also visit kids to punish them.”
The inception of punishment is unclear. Saint Nicholas, accompanied by a devil-like figure, emerged in Germany and Central and Eastern European countries ("Krampus," Wikipedia).
Santa Claus, as we have come to know him in the States, originated with the 1823 poem by Clement Moore, “A Visit from St. Nick.” A “right jolly old elf.” And naughty or nice? Growing up, my sister only knew of it from the song, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.”
To date—because belief in Santa has continued throughout our lives--we have never received ashes or switches. The concept of "naughty or nice" provides a humorous take on the gift-giving tradition. But maybe when I was a 5-year-old child, the thought of an omnipresent and omniscient elf, always listening and reporting back to Santa, would have frightened me too.
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Works Cited
“Krampus.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus. Accessed 18 December 2025.
Little, Becky. “Meet Krampus, The Christmas Devil Who Punishes Naughty Children.”History. 5 December 2018 (Updated 2 March 2025). https://www.history.com/articles/krampus-christmas-legend-origin. Accessed 12 December 2025.
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