Kallikantzaroi

The Christmas Goblin – or Kallikantzaroi – is a creature from Greek folklore and legend. As legend holds, the goblin is a creature that lives underground. His mission in life is to chop down the “World Tree” which is the Earth’s foundation. If he is able to chop down the tree, then the Earth will collapse, and his mission is accomplished. He spends all year chopping away, attempting to complete his mission. The goblin never quite finishes his mission however, because he abandons his post every year. What happens is from Christmas day through January 6 the goblin is allowed to come to the Earth’s surface. So each year, when December 25 rolls around, the goblin rushes to the surface for the twelve days of Christmas to terrorize people, and in his excitement he forgets completely about his work in chopping down the tree. When the 12 days of Christmas are over, and the goblin is forced back underground, he discovers that the World Tree healed itself, and he must start his work anew.

The Goblin resembles a werewolf!?

While the Christmas Goblins‘ story is interesting, what is far more interesting is what the goblin is described as looking like! The goblin’s description is actually eerily similar to that of a werewolf! It is described as being covered in dark fur, having pointy ears, and a wolf-like face. Besides it’s physical description, what make many people think the goblin and werewolves are somehow linked is that some legends (specifically Romanian legends) cite werewolves as being more prominent around Christmas time.  Read more about werewolves and Christmas.