Oh, Black Peter!

That's who I was thinking of. Thanks, patty o'dawes

Here's an excerpt from the link that patty shared:   

..."Often the subject of winter poems and tales, the Companions travel with St. Nicholas or his various equivalents (Father Christmas, Santa Claus), carrying with them a rod (sometimes a stick, bundle of switches or a whip, and in modern times often a broom) and a sack. They are sometimes dressed in black rags, bearing a black face and unruly black hair. In many contemporary portrayals the companions look like dark, sinister, or rustic versions of Nicholas himself, with a similar costume but with a darker color scheme.

Some of the companions take on more monstrous forms, namely in Austria or Bavaria. Krampus and Klaubauf are variously depicted as horned, shaggy, bestial, or demonic. In many depictions the Krampus looks like popular images of the Devil, complete with red skin, cloven hooves, and short horns. They whip everyone that comes on their path.

It is unclear whether the various companions of St. Nicholas are all expressions of a single tradition (likely Knecht Ruprecht), or a conflation of multiple traditions. Various texts, especially those outside the tradition, often treat the companions as variations on a single Knecht Ruprecht tradition.

Traditionally, Knecht Ruprecht would sometimes be portrayed as being Black African, like Zwarte Piet in the Benelux. However, over recent decades this became regarded as offensive by some as Zwarte Piet is the silly helper of Sinterklaas. So, the black on his face is sometimes explained as soot collected as he descends into chimneys"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus