In certain parts of Germany, annual Saint Nicholas Day traditions come with a dark twist. Take Bavaria’s Krampus, for instance, a terrifying Christmas demon covered in fur who roams parades and sometimes lashes out at spectators with a birch rod. However, there’s an even more frightening piece of folklore that’s now facing backlash on Borkum Island, a small piece of land with a population of only 5,000. The Klaasohm festival, held every year on the eve of 5 December in Borkum, is being criticised by both tourists and locals for one particularly horrifying tradition.

The Klaasohm festival is revered on the island. However, once night falls, young men, dressed in elaborate costumes, chase women and strike them with cow horns—a “tradition” that has left victims bruised and in pain for days. Worse still, some of these men seem to take pride in the severity of the injuries they cause. This bizarre and violent ritual, long kept secret, is now facing serious backlash as islanders bring attention to its harmful legacy.

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The Klaasohm festival, celebrated annually on 5 December on Borkum Island, is believed to have originated in the 17th and 18th centuries. Fishermen returning from sea would run around the island in a symbolic act of “reclaiming” it from the women. However, over the years, what began as a tradition tied to the fishing seasons has evolved into a disturbing and controversial spectacle.

At first glance, it sounds quaint: young, single men don costumes made of sheepskin, bird feathers, and eerie masks while the entire community gathers to cheer them on. There’s even a wrestling match involved (island residents only, sorry outsiders). But as night falls, the festival takes a jaw-dropping turn straight out of the WTF-is-going-on playbook.

Here’s the deal: groups of so-called “catchers” chase down women, pin them, and then let the Klaasohms hit them on the buttocks with a cow horn. Yes, you read that right—a cow horn. This disturbing spectacle even has children standing around and cheering while women get smacked. Some locals laugh it off as harmless fun, but survivors and witnesses have told a much darker story, one filled with pain, bruises, and humiliation lasting long after the so-called “festivities” end.

The tradition was recently thrust into the spotlight after public broadcaster NDR secretly filmed the 2023 festival. The footage not only caught these disturbing rituals but also revealed the culture of silence surrounding them. Locals, terrified of social repercussions, refused to speak openly about the festival. One former islander described how men would boast about hitting women so hard they couldn’t sit down for days. Excuse me, what?!

When NDR asked for comments, organisers, the mayor, and even the police played hard to get, refusing to be interviewed. Later, in a statement, the festival’s organisers awkwardly admitted that while beating women with cow horns was part of the tradition in the past, “and in individual cases in recent years,” they’ve now decided to leave that aspect behind. Oh, bravo! Such progress.

The association behind the event insists the festival is really about “solidarity” and the “bond between islanders.” Meanwhile, the police have suddenly declared a “zero-tolerance policy” for violence.

While Borkum’s residents are facing backlash over their festival’s violent history, it’s worth noting that other “traditional” festivities with disturbing ties still persist. For example, in Belgium, the sale of chocolate hands remains a popular holiday treat, despite their dark connection to the brutal colonial legacy of King Leopold II. His reign over the Congo involved horrific violence, including the dismemberment of countless individuals as part of his exploitative rule. Yet, these chocolate hands—symbols of that gruesome history—are still widely sold, particularly around Christmas time, raising questions about the commercialisation of colonial trauma and its continued presence in modern holiday celebrations.

All of this begs the question: at what point does tradition become a convenient excuse to keep outdated and harmful practices alive? Because yeah, there are a couple of holidays that we can definitely do without.