This is my first year getting a hobonichi and I was a bit disappointed that the only cover that I really cared about was well outside my price range. But then I remembered I'm a visual artist so... I painted on the plain one I got instead!

This was a very fun project and I'd love to do it again someday hahah. Pardon bad lighting on the pictures, I don't have enough spoons to get out my proper camera so I took some phone snaps. #2 has the most accurate colours

Going over some more of the creatures in my cryptid nesting doll enamel pin kickstarter, here's the holidays guys.

First is the krampus. Krampus is an Alpine creature that has become fairly popular in modern times. Its origins lay with other pre-Christian masked creatures of lore. It is one of many who would parade through the streets as part of a tradition to scare away evil spirits that came with the winter, the grotesque features of the masks and bells all being part of this. As a sidenote I also want to put out that despite some articles claiming this, Krampus is not an individual in traditional lore and has nothing to do with Hel, the latter being from Krampus the Yule Lord by Brom.

The turoń is a Polish creature, part of other similar traditions of parading through the streets to frighten away winter evil. In Poland this is known as koliada, which is in modern times is the term for caroling. The turoń in particular is a horned creature whose name comes from the word for aurochs. It creates a commotion as it parades around, eventually tiring, waiting to revived with food and spirits.

Mari lwyd is a part of Welsh tradition first written about in 1800, but with a likely longer history. The mari lwyd joins wassailing groups, as a horse skull on a poll covering someone with cloth. Mari lwyd would sing a song asking to be permitted into the house while those being visited would counter with verses of excuses as to why they can't be let in. As with many caroling traditions, eventually the homes would relent and give the wassailers food and drink.