Belsnickel | |
---|---|
Aliases |
|
Gender | Male |
Occupation | Delivering punishments to naughty children on Christmas |
Belsnickel (also known as Belschnickel, Belznickle, Belznickel, Pelznikel, Pelznickel, Bell Sniggle[1]) is a crotchety, fur-clad Christmas gift-bringer figure in the folklore of the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany along the Rhine, the Saarland, and the Odenwald area of Baden-Württemberg. The figure is also preserved in Pennsylvania Dutch communities[2] and Brazilian-German communities.[3]