During the early 16th century, the Spanish arrived in Mexico for the first time. One of the eventual goals of the Spanish was to enlighten the local populations with tales from the Catholic church. This goal, as it turns out, was not as cut-and-dry as they had hoped it would be. In fact, a strange miscommunication would occur between the two groups that would go almost unnoticed.

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A Himalayan-Buddhist legend tells the tale of the guru Padmasambhava. After flying a tiger to the cliffs of Paro Valley (today in Bhutan) he meditated until transforming into eight incarnated forms. The cliffs became a holy place and his reincarnated form built a temple in 1692; hanging from the cliffs themselves.

While this tale is enchanting, what is truly enchanting is the actual temple from the tale: The Tiger’s Nest monastery.

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Many people know that on the eve of December 25th, a man in a red suit travels down chimneys to leave presents for good boys and girls. But what about the bad children?

According to the original myth, children received a visit from St. Nicolas and the Krampus on the night of December the 5th. St. Nick would test the children on their knowledge of the catechism, with the Krampus punishing them for wrong answers. But this mythos soon changed…

The legend changed when it reached France, where the beast became the punisher of badly-behaved children. The punishments included ear/hair pulling, whipping and sometimes even death. While the 5th of December has already passed by, there is still next year for children to worry about.