Did you hang out the laundry and eat sauerkraut between Christmas and Epiphany? That would be disastrous in one case, desirable in the other. Because whether the year will be good is decided by dealing with old customs.
Isn’t the year off to a good start? Bad news, big bills? Maybe something went wrong a few weeks ago, because if you’re not careful like a stickler around Christmas and New Year’s Eve, you can mess up the year very quickly. Even the best of intentions are useless.
The rough nights, for example, harbor all sorts of pitfalls. In the nights between Christmas and Epiphany, demons are up to mischief, according to popular superstition, and anyone who doesn’t get on well with the evil spirits can play bad with them. So it has to be smoked to keep them away from house and yard, in some places also noisy.
That’s not all, because it’s not just about taking action, it’s also about not doing certain things. There was a certain unrest in a cozy gathering at Epiphany recently when a woman said that she had just switched on the first washing machine since Christmas. The second thought she knew that the laundry could be washed, just not hung outside so that the evil spirits wouldn’t get caught in it. And the third spoke of a washing ban only between Christmas and New Year’s Eve and also only for bed linen, because the bed sheet provokes a shroud, i.e. a death, if it is washed at the wrong time. Those who had only washed socks and underpants – and then put them in the dryer sighed with relief.
Not enough, the financial aspects must also be settled in advance. They say that if you eat right, you won’t run out of money. Lentils, for example, are served in Franconia and Swabia, the sparrows or spozn only serve to fill you up and have no magical effect. In Lower Franconia, sauerkraut is said to guarantee liquidity throughout the year, and if you eat a carp in the Allgäu and put a few dried scales in your wallet, you will be lucky in the new year. None of this was on the menu? Then you must save this year and create a dish of carp, cabbage and lentils at the next opportunity. You should be on the safe side with this.
At the moment finally there is nothing special to consider, it will be quieter after the staden time. Well, Sebastiani is coming soon, fruit tree owners should remember that. And then Maria Candlemas comes, there the year’s need for candles is consecrated. Just to be sure, so you don’t miss anything.