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Customs And Traditions
Advent
In the homes of Christian families
in the living room, the Advent candles
were lit in the time before Christmas as
a symbol of heavenly light, which
promised redemption and eternal
happiness. In Sathmar, Advent is
distinguished by the attendance at
Rorate Masses.
The Rorate Mass
was celebrated earlier than on other
workdays. In the darkness of a winter
morning, the church visitors, mainly
women and children, can not be seen;
only the flickering lanterns they carry
in their hands come nearer to the church
from all directions like moving stars.
At the church, the lanterns are
extinguished and candles lit. Everyone
who comes to the Rorate has to have a
candle. So one light after another
enters the church, and finally the
candles at the altar are lighted, and
the priest begins the service. The
children find the experience of Rorate
in the candle-lit town church gruesomely
beautiful and are happy that only a few
days separate them from the birth of the
Christ-child.
Holy Saturday
Early in the
morning, boys gather in front of the
church with logs in their hands for a
fire blessing. The church warden lights
the fire and puts the logs on. Now the
priest appears and blesses the kindled
logs, which the boys then take home
quickly. The blessed logs are kept in
the attic or in the barn, to protect the
house and barn from fire.
After
the long period of fasting (during
Lent), which our ancestors took very
seriously, a tempting aroma now comes
out of the kitchen on Holy Saturday.
Cakes and white bread are being baked,
eggs are being colored, and ham is
cooking. For today, only the smells are
to be enjoyed, because the ham can only
be eaten on Easter Sunday.
Blessing The Ham
Before
the High Mass on Easter Sunday, the
mother puts cooked ham, milk-bread,
colored eggs, and horseradish into a
basket, called Krotta, which is lined
with a white cloth. This basket, truly
not light, is entrusted to a strong boy
or growing young woman. These
responsible caretakers hurry now to the
church. Here they form two lines and,
weather permitting, wait for the priest
outside the church, putting their
baskets on the ground, opening the
cloths, and examining the contents of
the other baskets around them. The
priest appears at the sound of bells and
carries out the blessing.
The
priest has hardly disappeared into the
sacristy, as each one hurries back home.
The family, gathered into one room, is
waiting impatiently for the return of
the "Trager" (carrier), because now they
can have ham, milk-bread and colored
eggs for breakfast. While the father
gives the adults a glass of whiskey, the
mother pours coffee for the children.
First, everyone wishes each other a
happy Easter.
Madlanetza (Drench The Girls)
While on Easter Sunday the extensive
meal apparently contributes to the
festive mood, the second part of the
holiday brings much joy, especially for
the young. Already early in the day,
there is lively activity in the streets.
We see the young men, armed with a
bottle, alone and in groups, going
around visiting the houses where girls
they know live. They spray the
representatives of the gentle sex, so
"the bloom does not fade". As a reward,
the "Netzer" (waterer) receives all
kinds of gifts: Easter eggs, coins,
tobacco, and fruit.
The bottle is
filled with rose water. Through a fancy
canvas lid, the wet benediction shoots
onto the girls, who is dripping wet if
she is visited by many admirers. In the
end, the self-sufficient, who filled
their spray weapons with fragrant, soapy
water, are remembered.
Weddings
Before the couple
goes to the church, they pray three Our
Fathers and the Apostles Creed with
their relatives and guests. Then the
young couple say good-bye to their
parents and siblings. The marriage
procession is led on the way to church
by the bride and her brother. The groom
and his sister form the second pair. As
a rule, the church wedding takes place
in Scheindorf in the morning. Before the
guests leave the church, the children
lock the church doors; if someone wants
to go out, they must pay. Now they go
home, generally to the bride's home.
Here, also, the door is locked. The
cooks, who look like they are armed with
cooking spoons and ladles, as well as
forks, must be appeased with money. The
communal noon meal follows. In the
afternoon, the couples dance. During the
evening meal, someone steals the bride's
shoes. Since she can not dance without
her shoes, her father is forced to buy
them back from the "thief". Shortly
before midnight, the bride's dance takes
place. Everyone who dances with the
bride has to pay something for the "Wieagabandl"
(cradle ribbon). At midnight, the
bride's crown is removed, she is prayed
for, and she is given a white kerchief.
With this, the bridal couple is taken
into the circle of married people.
Afterwards, the dancing continues.
Maypole "Sticking"
The
Maypole of the Scheindorfer Swabians is
the birch. In the night of May 1, the
young men "stick" a Maypole in the
ground of their sweethearts as a sign of
friendship. If it concerns a
bride-to-be, then the birch pole is
decorated with colorful ribbons. If the
girl's father thinks well of the friend,
then he will entertain him and his
helpers.
On this day, we think
not only of love and friendship, but
also of the Creator. Thus, the young men
also "stick" four Maypoles at church,
two by the church cross, and two at the
field cross.
Funkensonntag (Fire Sunday)
D'Fasnet ischt rum,
d'Madla send
krumm!
(Shrove Tuesday Is Over, The Girls
Are Crooked!)
This was said on Ash Wednesday,
the beginning of intense fasting.
When Fasching (the celebrations
before the beginning of Lent) is
over, the youth, and the whole town
community meet again on
Funkensonntag for "Scheibenschlagen"
(hitting pieces of wood). As in
other events, the organization for
this Sunday was left in the hands of
those with time on their hands. In
the afternoon, they ride from house
to house to get straw for the fire.
In the pasture, the collected straw
is separated into two piles, for the
little and the big fire.
As
soon as it begins to get dark, young
men and women as the main
participants go out, but they are
soon joined by adults and children
as spectators. After everyone is
gathered, the small fire is lit
first at the ringing of the Angelus
bells. Then those who are present
pray the Our Father. Now the boys go
to the large fire, which is blazing,
take buchenschieben (pieces of
beech) attached to long sticks and
put them in the fire until they
glow, brush them off, and hit them
with a bowled board so that they fly
in a wide ark into the dark night.
The first pieces are hit to
honor the Holy Trinity and the town
governor; the next ones are for
their sweethearts. If the wood is
meant for the judge, then the young
man doing the hitting calls out:
("Scheiben, Scheiben" out
and in this "Schieb" is for the
judge)
"Schieben,
Schieben aus und ein,
dia
Schieb' soll dem Herrn
Richter sein"
OR
The boy
who is hitting asks:
"Scheibi,
Scheibi,
i wiam
soll dia Scheib sei?"
(For whom should
this "Scheib" be)
And another one
answers: "Dia Scheib
soll sei is
Rothamichls Franz
und i dr Wenze Madla".
(The "Scheib" is for
Rotha-Michael's
Franz and the Wenz
girl). If the wood
falls to the ground
and is still
burning, then the
ones named will be a
couple by the next
Lent. The donated "Funkengeld"
(Fire money) comes
in useful for the
participants, who
visit the wine
cellar at the end,
to "Funken zu
loschen" (put out
the fire).
[Credits,
Originally Published by Jody McKim Pharr at the DVHH.org 29 Sep 2006]
[Published by Sarah Coraggio
at the DVHH on 2 October 2018]
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Last
Updated:
13 Oct 2018 |
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