Spunk’s and my recent bedtime ritual is doing Spunkriature. Spunk bats at the camera, scratches, growls, and hisses, and then poses nicely for, for instance (il paparazzo has to be quick on the shutter), before he starts grooming himself, between resuming his attacks on il paparazzo for pestering him. Spunkriature is quite exciting and bloody dangerous.
T’was the night before St. Nick’s Day And all through the house All the kitties were hiding Just like a mouse
Why was that? You might ask What was the cause? There was one on the prowl Known as the old Spunkus Klaws
He hunted bad kitties To have them for dinn He was ruthless it seems At rooting out sin
Was he succesful, you ask? Did the kitties get caught? Seems Spunkus finding sinners Washed out, all for naught
As the sun rose on St. Nick’s Day With a sigh of relief, so did the cats To celebrate goodness for this and that While Spunkus Klaws sat down and spat
He growled and he hissed He scratched on the pole On the wall he pissed For missing his goal
With a new pheromone collar Firmly in place Spunkus Klaws was much calmer And ready for peace
As Christmas approaches The household gets ready The birds, and the cats Jake and the roaches
For the mean old Spunkus To become a nice Claws like Santa To purr for love and peace And dance the Kittycabana
Spunkus Klaws: “Aye, pathetic pile of paparazzo puke! I’ll scratch your eyes out and have you for dinn with all the other sorry, schlecht, sinful kitties!”
Spunkus Klaws looks everywhere for sorry, schlecht, sinful kitties.
Gwendolyn: “Ich schwöre, ich war brav!”
“Watcha doin’, Marble?” “Shhhh! I’m hiding from Spunkus Klaws.”
“Pole! Pole! Please unwind, and tell me where I can find… those insolent kitty Katstards!”
Loki: “Ha! Bring it on, Spunkus Klaws!”
“Oh! No! A new phermone collar. I feel myself weakening, and sucumbing to niceness…”
“AAAAaaaarrrrrrrggggg!!!”
Happy to see you back to normal, Spunk!
And then there is Krampus! Tristan, Craig, Shelby, and Sean drove to Munich Sunday morning to see the Krampus Parade and sent us photos. If you don’t know about Krampus, here’s a quick rundown:
Pagan Roots Krampus is thought to originate in pre-Christian pagan traditions, possibly linked to winter spirits or underworld deities. When Christianity spread through the Alps, these older beliefs weren’t erased—they were absorbed and reinterpreted.
Christian Integration By the Middle Ages, Krampus became the dark counterpart to St. Nicholas: St. Nicholas rewards good children
Krampus punishes the bad He’s typically depicted with horns, cloven hooves, chains, and birch rods, sometimes carrying a sack to cart off misbehaving children.
Krampusnacht On December 5 (Krampusnacht, the night before St. Nicholas Day), young men dress as Krampus and roam the streets, rattling chains and frightening onlookers. These events—called Krampusläufe—range from traditional to rowdy public parades.
Suppression and Revival The Church and later governments periodically tried to ban or suppress Krampus as too pagan or disorderly.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, Krampus saw a major cultural revival, spreading beyond Europe into global pop culture.
The photos below were taken by Shelby, Sean and Tristan. The videos were shot by Craig.
Off Center & Not Even 