Père Fouettard, St. Nicholas’ Cannibalistic Friend Known As ‘The Whipping Father’
Here we meet another of Santa Claus’ less savory friends — Père Fouettard, or Father Whipper, another sort of anti-Santa who has a propensity for child-eating.
There are several legends that speak of Father Whipper, but one of the most common, originating sometime around 1150, involves an evil butcher who kidnapped three children.
Public DomainBonhomme Noël et le Père Fouettard, the literal translation of which is “Christmas Man and the Bogeyman.” An illustration depicting St. Nicholas and Father Whipper.
In the story, the butcher murders the three children, slits their throats, carves their meat up, and places it to rest in a salting tub. St. Nicholas then arrives at the butcher’s shop, and the butcher offers the saint some of his finest meat — which, of course, is the meat of the recently murdered children.
St. Nicholas, however, in his wisdom, instead resurrects the children and sends them back to their homes. In his piety, St. Nicholas then offers the mad butcher a chance at redemption, and the murderer becomes Father Whipper, a traveling companion of the saint who whips bad children.
Another version of the story is a bit younger, dating back to the 1550s during the Siege of Metz as part of the war between Henry II of France and the Holy Roman Empire.
Kaamuz/RedditA modern depiction of Père Fouettard.
During the fighting, French locals constructed an effigy of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, set it on fire, and paraded it through the streets — after which, a group of tanners created the character of Father Whipper based on the appearance of the burnt effigy.
Generally, Père Fouettard is depicted as a disheveled old man in black robes, with long dark hair, holding a martinet which he is prepared to use on any misbehaving children he and his good friend Santa Claus may come across.
