After celebrating through the night on Sylvester Night the men went with musical accompaniment to the friend’s house and wished a Happy New Year and ate Schwartenmagen (pig skin?) and drank wine and schnaps.  The children went to the relatives, said a New Year’s wish in rhymes which they learned from the calendar, and received a gift of money.  Standard rhymes were: “I wish, I wish, I know not what, reach in the sack and give me what” or “I wish you a golden table, a baked fish on it, in the center a jug full of wine, so the mister and misses can be jolly” or “Wish, wish, daka, give me some Raka” (Raka from Serbian rakija = schnaps, daka = no meaning, only because it rhymes).

   Discriminating children already learned better poem.  My uncle (Reg. No. 1174d) always recognized my diligence with a Tschilasch = Schimmel (white horse) = 20 Heller piece made of white nickel.

   In the time from New Year up to Fasching (German carnival) there were balls and the usual dance entertainments.  The married couples danced until midnight.  No girl went to the dance without the accompaniment of her mother.  The mothers sat at the edge of the dance hall, the daughters stood in front of them until they were asked to dance.  The boys danced with as many partners as possible and soon the mothers noticed if something developed.  After their introduction the mothers encouraged or restrained the advances of the young people.

   From Fasching until Easter there was no dancing.  On Good Friday the old people went to Holy Communion, the young to Easter.

   On the first Easter day the children kept the “Easter rabbits” in the garden at first, where they built a nest on Easter Saturday, then by the relatives.  One called this custom “Zammetra’n”, that is Zusammentrage (carry together).  On the second Easter day the boys went splashing the girls, and received flowers for it.  This custom was acquired from the Hungarians and this splashing? should promote fertility.  The Hungarians splashed roughly with buckets while the Germans splashed with little perfume bottles, often only filled with water which were made aromatic beforehand with orange peels.

   For Christ’s Ascension the 12 year olds were confirmed.  The girls had to wear white dresses for it, the boys wore blue suits with long pants.  On Whitsunday they went to Holy Communion for the first time.  During Holy Communion the community sang.

   From Easter to Peter and Paul there was dancing each Sunday afternoon and in the evening until 12 o’clock.   In between the cattle were cared for.  On the 28th of July the harvest began.  (“Peter and Paul made the roots of the grain rotten.”)  During the harvest time everyone took pleasure at the dances.

   They worked from 3 o’clock in the morning until nighttime.  It was 18 to 19 hours of work – almost half of the present day weekly work hours!  After the harvest they danced again until the corn harvest in September.  The destination was the train station where there was always something to see.  Some also went bathing in the Danube.  After the corn harvest there was dancing again until Kathrein?

   In October and November the Kirchweih festival was celebrated (in Beschka on the first Sunday after All Saints Day).  The youth from the whole settlement region came there, often from 100 kilometers away, where they became acquainted and learned to love.  From Kathrein on there was no more dancing.  (Kathrein employed music).  In the late fall and winter time was the time for reflection.  They were concerned with the children, telling about the fairy tales, sagas, and proverbs.

   In November it was the time of the house slaughtering.  It was often a very jolly time.  Friends were invited in and very many folk songs were sung.  I also still have not mentioned that until the turn of the century the songs and sagas were cared for in the spinning room.

   On the evening before St. Nicholas the children polished the shoes very carefully.  Nikolo (St. Nick) placed presents in the shoes at night.  On Christmas Eve the children recited poems, songs, and Nativity play nect to the Christmas tree in the church.  The church was full to bursting on this evening.  The most powerful organ stop “mixture” was so drowned out by the singing crowd that it worked silently and unobtrusively.  After the festival in the church the Christ child came and the fur nickel (Pelz nickel?) came to the children in the house.  There were presents and reminders given with it.  The Christmas tree was missing. 

Customs & Courtesies Independent of the Time of Year

   Because there is no social insurance for us the relatives must help those in greater need.  The old received upkeep from the children, that was often officially arranged.  If the children could not help, the other relatives helped.  The community only helped in the greatest need.  But I don’t know of a single concrete case where the community had to step in. 

   When someone used an appliance that he did not own, the people helped each other out.  If this appliance was expensive a rental fee had to be paid for it (sew machine, wine press, grape mill).  At fires everyone ran to it to rescue and to extinguish it.  People also often helped out free of charge at grape harvests, house slaughtering, and house building.