Knecht Ruprecht, to whom allusion has already been made, is a prominent figure in the German Christmas. On Christmas Eve in the north he goes about clad in skins or straw and examines children; if they can say their prayers perfectly he rewards them with apples, nuts and gingerbreads; if not, he punishes them. In the Mittelmark, as we have seen, a personage corresponding to him is sometimes called "the holy Christ"; in Mecklenburg he is "ru Klas" (rough Nicholas--note his identification with the saint); in Brunswick, Hanover, and Holstein "Klas," "Klawes," "Klas Bur" and "Bullerklas"; and in Silesia "Joseph." Sometimes he wears bells and carries a long staff with a bag of ashes at the end--hence the name "Aschenklas" occasionally given to him.{5} An ingenious theory connects this aspect of him with the _polaznik_ of the Slavs, who on Christmas Day in Crivoscian farms goes to the hearth, takes up the ashes of the Yule log and dashes them against the cauldron-hook above so that sparks fly (see Chapter X.).{6} As for the name "Ruprecht" the older mythologists interpreted it as meaning "shining with glory," _hruodperaht_, and identified its owner with the god Woden.{7} Dr. Tille, however, regards him |232| as dating only from the seventeenth century.{8} It can hardly be said that any satisfactory account has as yet been given of the origins of this personage, or of his relation to St. Nicholas, Pelzmaerte, and monstrous creatures like the _Klapperbock_. In the south-western part of Lower Austria, both St. Nicholas--a proper bishop with mitre, staff, and ring--and Ruprecht appear on Christmas Eve, and there is quite an elaborate ceremonial. The children welcome the saint with a hymn; then he goes to a table and makes each child repeat a prayer and show his lesson-books. Meanwhile Ruprecht in a hide, with glowing eyes and a long red tongue, stands at the door to overawe the young people. Each child next kneels before the saint and kisses his ring, whereupon Nicholas bids him put his shoes out-of-doors and look in them when the clock strikes ten. After this the saint lays on the table a rod dipped in lime, solemnly blesses the children, sprinkling them with holy water, and noiselessly departs. The children steal out into the garden, clear a space in the snow, and set out their shoes; when the last stroke of ten has sounded they find them filled with nuts and apples and all kinds of sweet things.{9}