PHOTO: Did You Behave Or Misbehave?

Zagreb streets were swarmed by golden and silver rods on Saint Nicholas Day (December 6).

ZAGREB, CROATIA – Marking Saint Nicholas` Day, the streets of Zagreb were swarmed by golden and silver twig rods, which are brought by Servant Ruprecht or Krampusse, according to customs. The tradition is for children to clean their boots and leave them on their window, hoping for sweets and gifts from Saint Nicholas.

Namely, the naughty Krampusse always walks behind Saint Nicholas as a shadow, carefully watching every child and their behaviour. If someone has been bad and made their parents angry, Krampusse puts a twig in their boot, to remind them of every bad deed.

The goal of this custom is to teach children love, solidarity and generally, good behaviour, while we present twigs to somewhat older ones to make them laugh and remind them that they used to watch through the window, hoping to see Saint Nicholas.

Take a look at the twigs in Zagreb in the photo gallery: Did You Behave Or Misbehave?