Legend of Père Fouettard - The Mysterious Father Whipper of Christmas

Описание: Père Fouettard, also recognized as Father Whipper or Old Man Whipper, is a figure who accompanies Saint Nicholas on Saint Nicholas Day, delivering coal or beatings to naughty children, while St. Nicholas rewards well-behaved ones. The "Whipping Father" is said to carry a whip to discipline misbehaving children.

Typically depicted as a sinister-faced man in dark robes with disheveled hair and a long beard, Père Fouettard wields a whip, large stick, or bundles of switches. In some versions, he carries a wicker backpack for transporting misbehaving children or simply a large bundle of sticks on his back.

The prevalent narrative regarding Père Fouettard's origin dates back to 1252. An innkeeper (or butcher in alternate versions) captures three seemingly wealthy boys en route to a religious boarding school. With his wife, he kills the children to steal from them. St. Nicholas discovers the crime, resurrects the children, and Père Fouettard repents, becoming St. Nicholas' companion. Another version suggests St. Nicholas forced Père Fouettard to assist him as punishment for his crimes.

An alternative story connects Père Fouettard to the Siege of Metz in 1552, where an effigy of King Charles the Fifth was burned and dragged through the city. Simultaneously, a group of tanners created a grotesque character with a whip, punishing children. After Metz's liberation, the burned effigy and the tanners' character merged into what is now Père Fouettard, timed with St. Nicholas' passage, creating the "bad cop" counterpart.

In the 1930s, Père Fouettard surfaced in the United States as Father Flog or Spanky. Similar to the original French depiction, Father Flog was unrelated to Christmas and had a female accomplice named Mother Flog, dishing out specific punishments for distinct childhood transgressions.

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