Santa used to have a traveling companion named Black Peter.According to some cultures, Black Peter was Satan, kept in chains by St. Nicholas who forced him into servitude.
Other people said he was a an evil little troll who worked in the coal mines.
Everyone, however, agreed that Santa gave gifts to the good kids and Black Peter doled out the punishments. The punishments varied, including a particularly barbaric one involving pirates and sex slavery, but it was always something.
A friend of my mom's who grew up in Czechoslovakia reports that Santa and Black Peter did not limit their visits to the children -- they went from house to house telling everybody their good points (from Santa Claus) and bad points (from Black Peter.) That included the adults, whose indiscretions and predilections were made uncomfortably public.
The good old days. I would LOVE the Black Peter job. Alas.
