German island to end ritual of spanking women with cow horn

the Klaasohm festival is a Saint Nicholas tradition celebrated every year on the night of December 5 on the North Sea island of Borkum, which has a population of more than 5,000.

The festival has come into the spotlight in Germany following a video report by public broadcaster NDR.

In the story, two male reporters attempt to film the 2023 festivities.

Using their cell phones, they easily film the daytime celebrations, when the community gathers around young, unmarried men dressed in the traditional costumes of the Klaasohms, made of masks with sheepskin and bird feathers.

Later on, the Klaasohms of different ages challenge each other to a type of wrestling match. This event is reserved for islanders, so tourists or reporters are not allowed to watch it.

The party continues into the night. The reporters secretly film a group of so-called "catchers" as they chase women, hold them while the Klaasohms hit them on the buttocks with a cow's horn. People around them, including children, cheer as one woman is being hit.

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The NDR journalists point out in their report that it is possible to deal more openly with media criticism, showing the example of the Krampus run in Austria.

According to tradition, people dressed as the devilish figure whip the procession's spectators using a birch rod.

The runs, fueled by alcohol and anarchic collective energy, have made headlines in the past years for violent outbreaks and injured participants.

Now there is tightened security around the Austrian events, with safe spaces for those who don't want to be hit, and numbers assigned to each Krampus so they can be identified if needed. The Krampuses are now encouraged to only symbolically brush festival-goers, and not actually whip them.