Austria
奥地利
Austrian children still get to celebrate the arrival of Ol’ Saint Nick， but they also have to brace themselves for the arrival of his evil counterpart， Krampus. Where Saint Nicholas rewards good behavior with treats and toys on December 6， the demonic Krampus arrives on December 5， looking to punish all the bad children. His weapons of choice are birch switches to beat children with and burlap sacks to kidnap them and throw them into the river. The worst part is that local men actually dress up like Krampus (just like many men dress up as Santa in America) and terrorize the streets. In some villages， kids are even made to run what is known as a Krampus-gauntlet， in an attempt to outrun the switches.
地利的孩子们庆祝圣诞老人的到来，但同时他们也得迎来邪恶的克拉普斯（Krampus）。圣诞老人在12月6号给表现好的孩子送美食、发玩具。而恶魔般的克拉普斯5号就到了，意在惩罚所有的坏孩子。他把桦树枝做的鞭子当武器，还用粗麻袋绑架他们，把他们扔到河里。最糟糕的是，当地的男士会打扮的像克拉普斯（就像许多美国人打扮的像圣诞老人一样），在街上吓唬小孩子。在很多村庄里，很多小孩子甚至必须接受“克拉普斯大挑战”，他们努力比克拉普斯的鞭子跑得更快。
France
法国
Children of East France have an evil visitor to keep them behaving all year long. Le Pere Fouettard， which translates into “The Whipping Father，” accompanies Saint Nicolas in on December 6. While St. Nick gives good children presents， Le Pere Fouettard gives coal and whippings to the naughty children.
法国东部的孩子们有个邪恶的造访者，他叫“鞭子老爹”（Le Pere Fouettard），确保孩子们一整年都表现乖巧。圣诞老人12月6号给孩子分发礼物时，他也陪伴左右。“鞭子老爹”会给淘气的孩子煤块和一顿鞭子。
One of the most popular origin stories of the character say that he was a greedy inn keeper who killed three rich boys on their way to boarding school. In many versions of the story， he even eats the children. Whether or not he cannibalizes the boys， the story ends when Saint Nick finds out and resurrects the children and forces Le Pere Fouettard to act as his servant throughout time.
关于“鞭子老爹”这个人物的起源，最流行的一个版本是说，他是一个贪婪的旅馆老板，在三个富男孩上学路上把他们杀了。很多其他版本甚至流传他吃小孩。故事的结局是圣诞老人找到并救出了孩子们，还迫使“鞭子老爹”永世做他的仆人。
Aside from The Whipping Father， another popular French tradition involves making a cake that looks like a traditional Yule log， known as buche de Noel. Christmas trees never really caught on in the country and while most people don’t have any use for an actual Yule log， the cake is a fun and festive substitute. Some of the buche de Nol can get fairly elaborate and even involve meringue mushrooms and edible flower decorations.
除了“鞭子老爹”的故事，法国圣诞还有一个传统是做“圣诞柴蛋糕”。其实圣诞树从未风靡全法国。虽然圣诞柴对法国人来说没什么实际用途，但这个蛋糕代表了人们的愉快和节日的喜庆。有些“圣诞柴蛋糕”做得相当精致，甚至有蛋白酥皮小蘑菇和能吃的花朵装饰品。
Germany
德国
Belsnickel is the German Santa’s dark enforcer， but he’s not nearly as evil as Krumpus or The Whipping Father. Instead he just wears fur from head to toe and gives good girls and boys candy and bad children coal and switches.
贝尔森克（Belsnickel）是德国圣诞老人的惩罚执行者，但他没克拉普斯或鞭子老爹那么邪恶。他从头到脚穿着毛皮，给好孩子们发糖果，给坏孩子们煤块和一顿鞭子。
Many are decorated with a wreath known as an “Adventskranz.” These wreaths have four candles which serve as a sort of weekly advent calendar， as each Sunday marks the opportunity to light a new candle.
许多地方都装饰有“降临节花环”（Adventskranz）。花环上有四只蜡烛，代表着降临节周历。每周日都点燃一只蜡烛。四只都被点燃时就意味着圣诞节到了。
On December 21， St. Thomas Day is believed to be the shortest day of the year and anyone who arrives late to work is called a “Thomas Donkey.” They are also given a cardboard donkey and made fun of throughout the rest of the day.
12月21日是“圣·托马斯日”（St. Thomas Day），据说是一年中最短的一天。任何在这一天上班迟到的人都被叫做“托马斯驴子”，他们还会收到一个纸板做的驴子，并且被嘲笑一整天。
Like many places in Europe， the Christmas tree is kept secret from the children until Christmas Eve. The parents bring the tree in， decorate it with candies， tinsel， lights and toys， put presents and plates of candy treats under the tree and then ring a bell signaling that the children can enter. The children then get to eat snacks and the whole family opens presents.
跟欧洲许多地方一样，在德国，圣诞树直到平安夜才能让孩子们看到。父母们把圣诞树拉出来，装饰上蜡烛、金属亮片、彩灯和玩具，把礼物和一碟碟的糖果放在树下，然后摇一下铃，表示孩子们可以进来了。小孩子们便可以吃小吃，全家一起打开礼物。
