Christmas in Bavaria: time of firecrackers and demons – Bavaria

The time of the turn of the year used to be charged with a magic that is unimaginable today. Occasionally this magic can still be guessed at, and sometimes it even tips into something funny. The Bayreuth historian Adrian Roßner researches the phenomena of superstition, which is the fertilizer of these old ideas. In a world that was not yet brightened by progress, fears ran rampant, people saw spirits and demons at work everywhere, to whom they felt defenseless. They clung all the more fiercely to customs and vague rules that were supposed to give them a bit of support, security and hope.

The concerns of love were also characterized by uncertainty, as Roßner found out. Back then, young girls firmly believed that they could find clues to their future husbands in nature. In order to find out more about their future, they should hug an apple tree on St. Andrew’s Night (November 30), it said. He tried this himself, but without success, Roßner said recently at a lecture. He then told his grandmother that it didn’t work. “That’s clear,” she said, “you hugged a pear tree.”

According to old superstition, during the twelve rough nights between Christmas Eve and Epiphany, hordes of Perchten, Druden and demons are out and about in nature.

(Photo: Johannes Simon)

Above all, the twelve nights between Christmas Eve and Epiphany, the so-called rough nights, were laden with secrets and the inexplicable. More than any other season, the transitional period at the end of the year is filled with foreboding. She was made for ghosts and demons, for the Wild Hunt, as it was called, which, according to the myth, drives a thousand heads through the bare trees, led by Wotan, Frau Percht, the Drud and the Haberngoass, to name just a few of these characters . In order to protect oneself from them, people smoked eagerly, with incense and all kinds of dried herbs. At least that was in their own power on Raunacht, the night of smoking.

But even with these protective actions man was at the mercy of the whims of supernatural forces. A good 150 years ago, the farmers on the Burgerhof in Erdinger Holzland had to look on helplessly as a fire suddenly broke out on a rough night, which suddenly destroyed the stable, the animals and the harvest. According to old tradition, the incense was sprinkled on a smoldering pan and then the smoke was distributed throughout the house. The chronicle speaks of a storm wind. It was easy for the force of nature to take a spark from the glowing coal shovel and set it down in the haystack. The evil spirits that the smoke was supposed to drive away had enough time to complete their destructive work.

Christmas in Bavaria: With dried herbs and incense in the embers, house and yard are smoked during the rough nights and at Christmas - also to obtain blessings and ward off evil spirits.

With dried herbs and incense in the embers, house and yard are smoked during the rough nights and at Christmas – also to obtain blessings and ward off evil spirits.

(Photo: RoHa-Fotothek Fürmann/SZ Photo)

Healing power and protection against evil forces are still attributed to incense today. And yet here, too, the border to superstition is fluid. The former pastor of Kiefersfelden, Johann Gierl, was so displeased a hundred years ago that he wrote down his despair at the narrow-mindedness of his fellow citizens. In his previous pastorate in Lower Bavaria, he sometimes felt like he was in the Middle Ages, as can be seen in his diary. He complained that the peasantry would not give up their belief in witches, the Druden or dubious blessings.

Noise plays a special role at Christmas. It starts with small things, as popular actor Toni Berger admonished in his biography published 20 years ago. At FC Bayern’s Christmas party, he wrote, he should read a contemplative story. Alone, no one was listening to him, there was a tremendous amount of noise in the hall, which prompted Berger to describe the guests as stuffers, especially since they then freaked out when a pop singer performed.

A few days ago, the Burghausen fire brigade experienced how great the temptation is for some people to make noise during the so-called staden time in an underground car park. The alarm was triggered by a firework in the men’s toilet, which was probably checked by the perpetrator for its suitability for New Year’s Eve.

Not only on New Year’s Eve is shot, but also on Christmas Eve. This custom is called Christmas shooting, which easily leads to misunderstandings. Of course, the target is not aimed at the Christkindl, but his arrival is accompanied with joyful noise. The firecracker shooting is not harmless. The historian Susanne Mittermaier recently quoted the Rosenheim Gazettewho in 1868 warned his readers against practicing the custom: “Many a friend of Christmas shooting became a poor cripple that night or even died, which is confirmed by hundreds of sad examples.”

No wonder the banging was banned, but very few people stuck to it. In the 19th century, the custom then became part of the Christmas liturgy. For almost 400 years it has been cared for by the Christmas archers of the Berchtesgadener Land, who fire their hand-held firecrackers on the hills before the start of Christmas mass.

Christmas in Bavaria: In addition to all the evil that characterizes the time between the years, there is also the light and comfort that is expressed in the Christmas lights - like here on the Christmas tree and at the chapel in Elmau in Upper Bavaria.

In addition to all the evil that characterizes the time between the years, there is also the bright and comforting that is expressed in the Christmas lights – like here on the Christmas tree and at the chapel in Elmau in Upper Bavaria.

(Photo: Sebastian Beck)

The fact that the noise was actually intended to drive away the evil spirits cannot be proven in the old sources, said the Regensburg cultural scientist Manuel Trummer a few days ago Bavarian radio. Seeing ancient Germanic rituals in it is an outdated interpretation from the 19th century, when people wanted to create a common cultural foundation on the way to nationalization.

So do the people living now have a more rational view of the world than did the uninformed rural population in Pastor Gierl’s time? This question cannot be answered unequivocally, not only because of superstitious leftovers in Christmas customs and the many fake news that believers find in abundance. Then there are the conspiracy theories, which are booming, also because they are being joined by increasingly weird forms of superstition, which in turn express archetypal feelings such as fear, hope and consolation.

It seems that in the increasingly complex modern information world, those who turn away from science and worship superstition are gaining momentum. But where the shadows grow, the good is still close. There used to be a strong warning against hanging laundry outside at Christmas. Because there is a danger that demons and spirits get caught in it. Tradition researcher Roßner says: You can put the laundry in the dryer.

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