It was close to 9 p.m., Christmas Eve, and I was in a car with my family in the Swiss countryside. Down a succession of ever quieter and narrower roads, lit by yellow streetlamps in the villages, ...

In Italy, krampus processions take place in the deepest part of winter. Credit - Danilo Donadoni—REDA/Universal Images Group/Getty Images It was close to 9 p.m., Christmas Eve, and I was in a car with ...