The Easterfire
This custom is in the night of easter saturday to easter sunday. With
this easter tradition the winter is definitely banned. The bigger the
flames, the more fertile becomes the ground in the surroundings of the
glow of the fire.
Almost every village has its own Easter fire nearby the place on a
field. Some days before the youth collects wood and branches, which get
stratified to a big mountain on easter saturday. As soon as the first
wood comes into the place, it must be guarded. Because the youth out of
the neighbouring villages makes a fun of lighting the fire to early. In
the evening of the Easter fire the youth and meanwhile also whole
families get together around a smaller fire with music, drinks and fun.
The gigantic woodpile is lightened around midnight and burns down up to
the early morning hours. From stories of my father I know that they
made some jokes on their way home. Gates and small doors were turned
upside down and hung into trees, clogs (all of them look alike) were
collected by the farmsteads and everything poured on a heap in the
village . This was a fun for everyone and nobody was mad. Today, they
are probably a bit more careful there. Actually too bad.
Set the maypole
There about 15 to 20 meters high maypole is set on May 1st on the
evening before. It is important that it is stolen, so that it does not
lose its strength as a protector of the village. The trunk is freed
from the bark otherwise evil minds and illnesses can hide between trunk
and bark for human and animal. The trunk is adorned with a wreath made
by the youth. The treetop of the maypole forms a green birch (the Mays)
which brings the fertility to the village and to the harvest. In the
evening they celebrate with food and drinks because building up the
maypole is not an easy task to do, its very exhausting. In the morning
the Maypole gets cut down.
The harvest festival
Different customs are done at the harvest festival.Cock-plucking,
wreath-riding, frog cart, Horse-race on a field. Cock-plucking is the
most known custom. An archway decorated with oak leaves is set up on a
harvested field. Unmarried men to horse try to tear the small
things (cigarettes, lollipops, mini-alcohol bottle) appended at the
crossbeam . If the horses are broken in on this way, the dead cock
(Kokot) is on hung headfirst. Who tears the head off becomes the first
king, the wings mean second and third king. Girls in traditional lower
sorbian costumes accompany this festival and the kings are allowed to
select their queen from this circle with bandaged eyes. The horse and
riders get an honour wreath of oak leaves and now the royal couples go
towards the inn for the dance . The cock is seen as a fertility symbol.
Since he has overexerted at the time of the seed and harvest, he is too
weak and old as ghost of fertility for a next year and therefore he
must be plucked.
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