German Spring Holidays


Lent

Lent is begun on Ash Wednesday and ends at Easter. The people are not allowed to eat meats except for fish. They also can't eat cheese, eggs, or drink milk. No one can eat food before noon, and no marriages can be performed. Lent is begun by celebrations and the lighting of the Paschal Candle. This is a tall fat candle which burns all through Lent. On the first Sunday of Lent, bonfires are lit on mountaintops.

Holy Week

Holy Week is celebrated the week prior to Easter, in which alms are giving and there is feasting. Often a pig is shot but not eaten, symbolizing the suffering of Christ. Good Friday through Easter Sunday is a time of fasting until the feast on Easter Sunday. Often in the week following Easter no work is required, marking the end of spring.

Mayday

This festive holiday feast commemorates St. Philip and St. James. The night before, men and women in bizarre mask of devils and animals roam the villages who demand food and drink and mock their hosts. On the actual day, women wear clothes and have decorative flowers in their hair. One of the women is chosen as the Queen of May. She is crowned with greenery and blossoms. She chooses a partner as her lover and she then leads a dance around the maypole. The village is also decorated with flowers and greenery.

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