Kallikantzaros facts for kids
 Illustration of a kallikantzaros with goat legs and donkey ears
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| Grouping | Folklore |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Goblin |
| Other name(s) | karakoncolos, karakondžula, karakondzhol |
| Country | Greece, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania |
| Region | Southeastern Europe |
The kallikantzaros (also called karakoncolos, karakondžula, or karakondzhol) is a type of goblin found in the traditional stories (folklore) of Southeast Europe and a region called Anatolia. People in countries like Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia, and Cyprus tell tales about these creatures.
In these stories, kallikantzaroi (that's the plural for more than one) usually live underground. But they are said to come to the surface during the Twelve Days of Christmas. This period lasts from December 25th to January 6th.
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What's in a Name?
The name kallikantzaros might come from the Greek words kalos-kentauros, which means "beautiful centaur". However, some people don't agree with this idea.
Another idea is that the name comes from the Turkish words kara-kondjolos. Kara means "black," and koncolos means "bloodsucker" or "werewolf".
Greek Stories of the Kallikantzaroi
In Greek folklore, kallikantzaroi are believed to spend most of their time underground. They are busy sawing at the trunk of the world tree. This tree is thought to hold up the Earth. If they saw through it, the Earth would collapse!
However, the stories say that just as they are about to finish cutting the tree, Christmas arrives. This is when they can come to the surface. They forget all about the tree and instead cause mischief for people.
Finally, on Epiphany (January 6th), the sun starts to move normally again. The kallikantzaroi must then go back underground to continue their sawing. But when they return, they find that the world tree has healed itself! So, they have to start their work all over again. This is believed to happen every year.
How They Look
There isn't one single way to describe how kallikantzaroi look. Their appearance changes depending on the region where the story is told.
Some Greek artists have drawn them with animal parts. They might have hairy bodies, legs like a horse, or tusks like a wild boar. Sometimes they are huge, and other times they are very small.
Other stories describe them as small humans with a terrible smell. They are mostly male and often have strange features. Many Greeks imagine them as tall, black, and hairy, with glowing red eyes. They might have goat or donkey ears, monkey arms, long hanging tongues, and huge heads.
However, the most common idea is that they are small, black creatures. They look like little black devils, but with long black tails. They are also often said to be mostly blind and speak with a lisp. They supposedly love to eat frogs, worms, and other small creatures.
Protecting Yourself from Kallikantzaroi
Kallikantzaroi are believed to be creatures of the night. According to folklore, people had many ways to protect themselves when these goblins were around.
One method was to leave a colander on their doorstep. The idea was to trick the kallikantzaros. It was believed that these goblins could not count past two. Three was thought to be a holy number, and saying it would supposedly make the kallikantzaros die. So, the goblin would sit at the doorstep all night, counting each hole of the colander. It would keep counting until the sun rose and forced it to hide.
In some cultures, it's a yearly tradition to throw "loukoumades" (a donut-like dessert) and sausages onto your roof. People also sing a special song. It's believed that after this, the kallikantzaroi will eat the food and leave. Then they return to their work underground.
Another way to stay safe was to keep the fire burning in the fireplace all night. This would stop the kallikantzaroi from coming in through it. In some places, people would burn a special Yule log for all twelve days of Christmas. In other areas, people would throw smelly shoes into the fire. The bad smell was thought to scare the kallikantzaroi away. People also marked their doors with a black cross on Christmas Eve or burned incense to keep them away.
According to legend, any child born during the Twelve Days of Christmas was in danger. They might turn into a kallikantzaros every Christmas season once they became adults. To stop this, people would tie the baby with garlic or straw. They might also singe the child's toenails. Another legend says that anyone born on a Saturday could see and talk with the kallikantzaroi.
What made kallikantzaroi special was that they only appeared on Earth for twelve days each year. They were not seen as purely evil creatures, but more like mischievous and silly ones. This led to different ideas about where they came from. One idea connects them to the masked parties of ancient Roman winter festivals, like Bacchanalia.
In Greek, the word kallikantzaros is also used for other short, ugly, and often mischievous beings in folklore. It can mean something similar to an Irish leprechaun or an English gnome or goblin.
Kallikantzaroi in Other Countries
Serbian Folklore
In Serbian Christmas traditions, the Twelve Days of Christmas were once called the "unbaptized days." People believed that during this time, all kinds of scary forces were more active and dangerous. People were careful not to attract their attention. They did not go out late at night.
This was especially true because of mythical demons called karakondžula. These creatures were imagined as heavy, squat, and ugly. Stories say that if a karakondžula found someone outside at night, it would jump on their back. It would then demand to be carried wherever it wanted to go. Only when roosters crowed at dawn would the creature let go of its victim and run away.
Turkish Folklore
The karankoncolos is a mischievous creature in Northeast Anatolian Turkish-Islamic folklore. It is a type of bogeyman. It is usually just annoying and harmless, but sometimes it can be truly evil. It is believed to have thick, hairy fur, like a Sasquatch.
According to old Turkish myths, they appear during the first ten days of Zemheri (a very cold period). They stand in dark corners and ask simple questions to people passing by. The legend says that to be safe, you must answer every question using the word kara (which means "black" in Turkish). If you don't, the creature might strike you dead. It was also said that the karakoncolos could call people out during the cold Zemheri nights. It would imitate the voices of loved ones. If the person could not break free from the charm, they risked freezing to death.
Bulgarian Folklore
In Bulgaria, the demon is called karakondjul or karakondjo. They are imagined in different ways. Some say they look human-like but have a hairy body, a tail, and a large head with horns. Others describe them as one-eyed beings standing on a single leg, or as a man with a horse's head.
It is believed to be a shape-shifter. It might appear as a dog, a man, a sheep, or a calf. It is said to live in caves, rivers, or abandoned water mills. It comes out at night.
A Bulgarian custom called kukeri is performed to scare away evil creatures and avoid contact with them.
Albanian Folklore
In Albanian folklore, Kukuth and Karkanxholji are creatures. They are said to roam around in January. They are laden with chains and give off a deadly breath. These stories are also known among Calabrian Albanians.
Another version says that the Karkançual wears iron clothes. This is why chainmail armor is known as këmish karkançoli in the Albanian.
Kallikantzaroi in Pop Culture
- Kallikantzaroi were featured in the TV show Grimm, in an episode called "The Grimm Who Stole Christmas".
- In Roger Zelazny's novel This Immortal, the main character is Greek and was born on Christmas Day. His new wife jokingly calls him a "kallikanzaros" at the start of the book. The term appears several other times in the story.
- The word Kallikantzaros has been used to describe other goblins or trolls when translated into Greek. For example, the goblins from Harry Potter who work at Gringotts are called Kallikantzaros in Greek translations.
- A mention of the "kallikanzari of modern Greece" is made in H. P. Lovecraft's story The Whisperer in Darkness (1931).
See also
