Pommerntag
- is scheduled on the last Sunday in June - from noon to 6
pm, be sure to mark your calendars so you
don't miss this great celebration of your heritage! Features include the Verein database with our
computer setup; the database now contains over 104,000 names linked
together in family pedigree form. Printouts are free at Pommerntag!
There are cultural, genealogical displays,
plus book and map sales.
Usually, entertainment includes the music of the
Kameraden Band and the
beautiful ethnic dancing of the Pommersche Tanzdeel Freistadt. Pommern
food is offered along with the famous Kirschsuppe (cherry soup) The
festival is customarily held at the Mequon City Park, 11333 North Cedarburg Street, Mequon, Wisconsin.
Pommerntag - 26 Juni, am Sonntag Nachmittag -
Kennzeichnen Sie ihre
Kalender für diese große Feier ihres Erbes!
Pommerntag wird für den letzen Sonntag im Juni festgelegt. Eigenschaften
umfassen die Verein Datenbank mit unserer Computerinstellung;
die Datenbank enthält
jetzt über 98,000 Namen die zusammen in der Familie Stammbaumform verbunden werden. Ausdruck sind bei Pommerntag
frei! Es gibt kulturelle, genealogische Anzeigen plus Buch und
Diagrammverkäufe. Normalerweise
umfaßt Unterhaltung die Musik von das Bandes Kameraden und das schöne
ethnische Tanzen des
Pommersche Tanzdeel Freistadt. Pommern Nahrung wird
zusammen mit em berümte Kirschsuppe angeboten. Das Festival wird
gewöhnlich am Mequon Stadt-park,
11333 NordCedarburg Straße, Mequon, Wisconsin gehalten.
* * *
German Fest - is held the last week-end in
July, Friday through Sunday. This
unique festival offers
something for everyone! Genealogy, Sheepshead, Arts
and Crafts, Chess, German Books, Parades, Trachenschau, Spanferkel and other
good German specialties. It is a fun time for anyone who loves good food
and great Gemütlichkeit! Deutschesfest - wird
das jetzte Wochenende im Juli festgelegt. Es ist ein einzigartiges Festival, das
Gemealogie, Schafskopf, Künste, Fertigkeiten, Trachenschau, Spanferkel, und andere gute deutsche
Spezialgebiete.
Gesetzt ihm in ihre Zeitplan fur folgendes Jahr. Sie lieben die gute
Nahrung und das Große Gemütlichkeit.
* * *
Erntedank
-This original PPommern harvest festival was comparable to our
Thanksgiving; Ernte - meaning harvest and Dank -meaning thanks. The Pomeranian Erntedank was
originally held on the first Sunday after the 29th of September, at the end of the
harvesting season. The harvesting of crops was a strenuous
task in historic times. The potato crops were harvested by the whole family, first
digging out the potato mounds and then picking through the soil to sort out the tubers. The
children would gather the dried vines and burn them, using the fire to roast the smaller
potatoes, which were considered a delicacy. When the last potato hill was harvested, they
climbed onto the decorated wagon and headed for home.
The custom of Erntedank was centered in the church. A table was decorated
with the best produce from the fields and gardens. Baskets of fruits and a harvest
crown (Erntekrone) made from the grains were carried into the church and onto the
altar. In some churches this produce was distributed to the poor and in others it
was sold and the proceeds were given to the poor. There were ceremonial rituals connected to the
festival, such as, the making of the Alte - an old man made of straw, the
decorating of their tools, the wearing of the (crown), and almost everyone wore their
trachten.
Sometimes there were contests for the largest pumpkin grown, or the heaviest fodder of
carrots or potatoes. There were festival dinners and everyone ate and drank a
lot. Dances, games, and plays were held on the barn threshing floor. These
celebrations varied somewhat from village to village. *
* *
Osterfeiertag
Palmsonntag (Palm Sunday) was
considered as the beginning of Easter Week. Homes were
decorated with birch tree branches, or pussy willows that had been forced to leaf out
early by being brought into the warmth of the homes a few days earlier.
Gründonnerstag (Maunday Thursday) commemorates
the Last Supper, the meal Jesus shared with His disciples the day before He died.
Gründonnerstag
literally means "green Thursday." Although the name probably comes from an
ancient word "grein", which meant to cry or weep, the color green is used that
day as a symbol of renewal The meals for the day usually included green foods, like
spinach, leeks, beans, and chives.
Karfreitag (Good Friday), the day Christ died on the
cross; Karfreitag literally means grief Friday and in
most areas, the village was quiet and even the church bells were kept silent. All
adornments on the altar and throughout the church were removed.
But, in some areas of Germany
the church services are announced by making a lot of noise with wooden rattles.
There was a tradition of lighting bon fires in the evening before Easter Sunday to
chase away the evil spirits of winter. The
young men would compete with each other to make the largest fire on a nearby hill.
The charcoals from the fire were carried home as it was believed that these coals
would give a warmer greeting to guests when burned on a cool evening.
Österfeiertag
(Easter) - There is an old German saying that when a pig was
butchered, every part of that pig was eaten or used in one form or another, that is, all
except the squeal. So it was with many things, everything was used for
something, even the outer skins of the onion. These skins of shades of red and
brown were put aside throughout the winter months for the coloring of the Östereier
(Easter egg). Leaves, grasses and small flowers were carefully arranged around
each egg, leaving much of the shell exposed, then wrapped with a thin clothe and securely
tied. The red onion skins were placed in a kettle, the brown ones in another,
and then the eggs were carefully laid in the kettles and covered with cold water.
The eggs were boiled for about 10 minutes and when taken from the water and the
wrappings removed, they had beautiful designs from the grasses, leaves and flowers on
a background of various shades of red, orange, and brown. They were now ready for
the forthcoming Österhas (Easter Bunny) to hide in various places for the children
to find.
Colored eggs
were given as presents as early as the 16th century.
The eggs were symbols of fertility and purity.
Sometimes eggs were placed in the attics to insure good health and good fortune.
The young Frauleins had a special observance on Easter morning too. Very early,
before sunrise, they would walk barefoot and quietly through the dewy grass to the
nearest clear water creek. It was important for them to be very quiet and not talk
to anyone and wash their faces in the cold water promptly as the sun began to rise.
The boys and young men would hide behind shrubs or trees on the path to the creek
and try to startle the girls and engage them in conversation.
The Frauleins believed that the "Easter Water" would magically bless
them and make them beautiful. They also filled a bottle with this "Easter Water"
from the stream so that they could dip their fingers in it each morning to maintain their
newly acquired beauty.
Many Pomeranians saved the membrane from inside the eggs and covered their fingertips with
it. This membrane was kept on their finger-tips throughout the day on Easter to protect
them against sickness and evil throughout the entire year.
*
* *
Hocktied
- The Pommern
Wedding, - The marriage procedure
began with the groom-to-be visiting the parents of the bride-to-be to formally ask for her hand in marriage; the wedding date was determined at that
time. The forthcoming marriage was announced in church on the Sunday before the wedding, and
the couple would attend communion on that occasion.
The wedding party usually began on a Thursday, but the celebration continued on
through the following Sunday.
Even as today,
prior to the wedding, the
invitations had to be sent out. This service was performed by the Hochzeitsbitter
(in some areas he was called the "Hochtiedsirer); who was
usually a brother of the bride. He wore his Pommerscher
Trachten or a black suit with a tall black hat. The hat was
decorated with colorful flowers and ribbons. He had a small bouquet of flowers in
the
button hole of his suit, and carried a staff that was also decorated with
colorful ribbons. He rode his horse from house to house, and was usually
invited into the parlor of each home; where he treated the future guests to
some Schnapps. The memorized poetic invitation was recited and he
was presented with a
colorful handkerchief as an acceptance to the invitation. This handkerchief or
ribbon was pinned to the back of his jacket, and when he greeted the guests or helped in serving them at the
wedding, the handkerchiefs were still pinned
to his jacket.
The celebration historically began on the Thursday before the wedding; it
began with the Polterabend, which was usually organized by the bridal couple's young friends. They would gather
their kitchen utensils to bang on, old pottery to break, cowbells to ring, and whatever else they
could find to make a lot of noise. The noise would continue until the
bridal pair rewarded them for their efforts. The young noise-makers would
bring small gifts and often chickens to be used for the wedding dinner. These young friends sometimes played tricks on the bridal couple, such as putting an
old buggy or other items on the roof top of their house. The bridal couple was
expected
to clean up the mess and bury the pottery pieces behind the house before
sunrise. This supposedly indicated that the couple would have a peaceful married life.
During the 19th century, it was customary for the bride to wear
black; it wasn't until the early 1900's that white became fashionable. The groom was
not allowed to see the bride before he reached the church door. The guests
arrived at the wedding ceremony by 10:00 A.M. and a band of
musicians welcomed them with the music. It was customary for the guests to tip the musicians,
especially if the music pleased them; this custom was called "Zur
Hochzeit einspielen."
The bride began the bridal dance by climbing
onto a stone (usually upon a historic grave of an ancestor) to ask for a blessing from her
ancestors. Following the blessing she would then recite, "Hier stehe ich ganz allein auf einem
breiten Stein, und wer mich lief hat, holt mich ein" (Here I stand all
alone on this stone, and whoever loves me, will bring me down.) The bridegroom
would then have to climb up on the stone to claim his bride, and the bridal dance would follow.
Customarily,
the guests were treated to a bounteous chicken dinner, so that "das
Glück gackern" (happiness could cackle). The dinner was followed with a
night of dancing that continued until around midnight. The bride was
expected to dance with all the male guests and the groom with all the females.
The musicians would continue to play until dawn, if they were tipped by the guests.
In some parts of Pommern, towards the end of the evening
of dancing, there was a "Wreath Dance." during which the young
bachelors tried to take the bride's bouquet, and the groom was obligated to defend
it. While in other areas, the bride would throw her bridal bouquet in the air
and the young unmarried girls would try to catch it. Whoever caught it was
expected to be the next bride. The last dance was the "Broom Dance," during which a young man would ride the broom between the dancing
couples; whenever he dropped the broom by a lady, she was his next dance partner. Everyone
would try to get a new partner and whoever was left without a partner had to dance with the broom.
The bride's parent's home was usually decorated with flags,
embroidered with the couple's initials, hung high on the building. Three
separated bottles were hung there too. The third day after the wedding was the
"Party of the Bullet." The groom was challenged to shoot one of the bottles,
with a gun of the guests choice. This was not an easy task, especially since
they had been partying for three days.
The house was usually decorated with different
themes each day. On the last day of the
celebration, arcs were made out of the
center of palm tree leaves. The bridal couple
would walk underneath the arcs,
symbolizing that their love would last an eternity.
The bridal couple were expected to host a party on the Sunday after the wedding
to demonstrate their graciousness and generosity. It was also an opportunity
to show off the bride's trousseau and the gifts they had received.
The following Tuesday was moving day and everything was loaded onto a wagon and
driven to the groom's farm- yard. Oftentimes a
rooster was stolen from the
bride's farm to be let loose at the groom's farm. The resulting
rooster fight
was to foretell whether the groom or the bride would "rule the roost"
in
the marriage; this was determined by which rooster won the fight.
Some superstitions connected with weddings were:
1. If the bride looked back on
her walk to the church, it was thought to
symbolize that she was thinking of the things she had left behind. 2. If one of the
wedding bands were to fall, it was thought that the person who dropped it would be
the first to die. 3. As the couple walked from the church, they were to
take the first steps together as man and wife and walk very close to each other. This was to prevent any bad vibes or evil powers from coming between them.
*
* *
Baptismal
Customs - When a child was born in Pommern, the father would
plant a
tree in the garden. If the child was a boy, he would plant an
apple tree, If the child was a girl, he would plant a pear tree, and for
twins a cherry tree. It was believed the child would then grow up to be
good and strong.
The Pomeranians had many superstitions, perhaps
originating from pagan customs, prior to their conversion to Christianity.
This one came into play when a baby was born during the period between a close
relative's death and burial. They feared that the dead person's spirit could cause the child to die, or that it would cause the baby to become an evil
person. The parents of the child would frantically call the
pastor, even in the middle of the night, to come and baptize the child
immediately. The baptism had to be done at once to prevent the death of
the child.
The baptism of healthy babies was done
normally following the first regular Sunday church service after its birth.
The congregation
would stay for the baptism, so that the ceremony was thought to be part of the service. It was
a common practice for the parents to remain at home while the Godparents took the
child to church. The parents usually chose two male
relatives of the father and
a female relative of the mother as Sponsors (God- parents) of a male child, and two
female relatives of the mother and a male relative of the father for a female child. This position carried
great responsibilities. They were to
guarantee that the child was taught their Christian faith and serve as an
example for the child by "living a good Christian life." They
were also expected to take over as parents of the child, if something happened to the
parents. It was customary
for the Godparents to remember the child with a present on their birthdays and
at Christmas until the child was confirmed.
There was a close
relationship between the Godparents and their Godchild, but this also had some
superstitious omens. For instance, if the Godmother carried the
child quickly to the church, it was believed that the child would walk
early. In some areas it was believed that the Godparent must use their right hand to bestow
presents to the child, otherwise the child would be left handed. The
Godparent also should never touch the child while wearing gloves, or the child
would then have weak and tiny hands. Shortly after the baptism, the
godparents would slip their "Patengeschenk" under the pillow where
the
child lay. In earlier times this was usually two Taler. These were
put in a box-like envelope and a pious verse was written on the envelope.
The baptism of twins also brought another
superstition into play. The pastor, knowing that twins were born, would be taken by surprise when he was
presented with only one child to be Christened. When questioned regarding
this, the parents stated that it was a family custom not to baptize the twins
together; there was no other explanation. Most likely this resulted from
some confusion between certain
superstitions and the baptismal customs. It was also thought important
that a male child and a female child should not be baptized with the same water,
otherwise the male child would never grow a beard, but the female child would.
Many Pomeranians also believed that the baptismal
water had healing powers. This lead one woman to make a milk-soup out of
the water, which she used as a cure-all for her children whenever they were sick.
*
* *
Death and the Funerals - When the time came that good
Pomeranian
Christians
knew death was near, the Pastor was called to administer
the sacrament of Holy Communion to insure the dying person's peace with God. When the
final moments of life was eminent, the windows in the room were opened and the close relatives
stepped away from the bed to allow the dead person's soul to go directly to heaven with no obstacles in its
path. Everyone then prayed and/or sang
hymns. The clocks were all stopped at the moment of death and a black
cloth was hung on the entrances to the home and the black cloths also covered the mirrors. This
was done to keep all satanic powers away.
In some areas of Pomerania, on the day
after the death, the church bells would toll, counting out the deceased person's
age. In other areas they rang out at three intervals, the first time
as the gravediggers removed the sod from the grave site, then again when the digging was done, and the third time when they completed their work.
The dead person's body was washed and dressed in his/her finest clothing and
laid out in a coffin in the parlor or on the dining room table, with their feet
towards the door. The body had to be carried out that same way to protect the
mourners from being carried along.
The coffin was taken to the cemetery on
a horse-drawn farm wagon. The horses were watched closely during this
ritual. If they turned their heads in the direction of a home along the
way, it was believed that a person in that house would be the next to die; and if they stopped in front of a house, a person in that house would die very soon.
It was customary for all the mourners to go
the church from the cemetery to attend the funeral service. Usually a large dinner was served after the church service; it traditionally included chicken soup. The meal started off on a somber note, but after several
servings of brandy, some of the tenseness disappeared and the tongues were
loosened. Gradually, the the mourners became more cheerful and they began
to enjoy each others company.
*
* *
May Day (Erster
Mai)- In
Germany
, the first day of May is a national holiday, similar to Labor Day in the USA.
It is the International Workers' Day, "Tag der Arbeit," when workers gather for rallies and
speeches, to collectively express their unity. There are a variety of May festivals
that take place.
After the dreariness of winter, and the green fields and trees appeared again, the
celebration of spring on May Day was a joyous event, a symbol of spring’s reawakening to
fruitfulness. May-bells (Maiglöckchen)
began to bloom and chocolate May Beetles (Maikäfer) were available in the stores for the
children. It inspired many romantic poems and
songs like (Mairegen bringt Segen) rain in May brings blessings.
There
were also ceremonial plantings of seedlings or small trees; homes and dance halls were
decorated with flowers and green leaves. In
some areas Maypoles were set up with community dancing around it: holding hands,
dancing, enjoying spirits, usually (Maiwein) May wine. It was a
happy day away from the workplaces.
Maiwein, a white wine, dedicated to springtime and flavored with fresh
Waldmeister, an old-world herb, a small plant with white blossoms, decorative and
grown in a shady corner of a German's herb garden. It is
used
for flavoring only in May, when the new leaves are tender.
Historically, May was known as the "Wonnemond," the month of lovers when a
young man's fancy turned to love. The young bachelors organized parties and dances to
romance the young maidens of the area. Over
the years, the Maubaum (May-tree) lost its original meaning and became just a celebration
of May and spring.
*
* *
New Year's Eve
(Sylvester) -
The night of the Holy Sylvester, the last night of the year, has always been the night
of fools and a funny good time. The saint of this day, Pope Sylvester I, according to
legend is the man who was healed from leprosy and baptized the Roman Emperor Constantine the
Great.
There
was a great amount of drinking, dancing and singing at the "Sylvester Balls"
held that night. As the old year ended and the new
year was about begin, everyone refilled their glasses with champagne or wine. Then
the hugs and kissing began, accompanied with "ein gutes neues Jahr." The
bells throughout Germany rang and many revelers ran out in the streets to enjoy the merry
sounds. There was usually some private fireworks displays and the sounds of shooting was
often heard along with the ringing bells.
Naturally,
there were some superstitions connected with Sylvester. People dropped molten lead
into cold water and then interpreted the shape it made into a future event they
believed would take place in the coming year. If the shape could be interpreted into
a heart or a ring - it meant a wedding, a
ship meant a journey, a pig meant there would be a year of plenty, etc.
Traditionally, carp was eaten on Sylvester;
it was believed it brought future wealth. It was also important to leave a bit of
each type of food on the dinner plate, which was to remain there until after
midnight. This insured that they would have plenty of food throughout the coming
year.
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