Peace fir
A peace fir that is transported from Norway to Wolfenbüttel has been lighting the traditional Wolfenbüttel Christmas market every year since 1962. In 2012 the 50th Peace Fir was erected. The approximately 14-meter-high fir found its place in front of the Wolfenbüttel town hall and represents a symbol of international understanding and peace.
prehistory
The initiative for the annual installation and handover goes back to friendly druid boxes from Drammen in Norway and Wolfenbüttel in Lower Saxony . The firs are transported on a ship from Norway to Germany. There they are taken over by the Wolfenbüttler Druid Brothers and transported to Wolfenbüttel by truck. The transport costs to Germany are borne by the druids from Norway; from Germany the druids from Wolfenbüttel. The peace fir is set up at the Wolfenbüttel Christmas market every year on December 1st and is illuminated at 5 p.m. A fir tree from the Harz only had to be procured and installed once in 2009 , as the Norwegian fir tree suffered a broken trunk while it was being transported by truck.
The official act in which the incumbent mayor solemnly opens the Christmas market is traditionally integrated into the multi-day fir festival of the “Zur Bundestreue” lodge from Wolfenbüttel. In 2012, on the occasion of this event, which was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, a large festival ball was also celebrated.
symbolism
The first peace fir, which was handed over in Wolfenbüttel in 1962, was intended to be a symbol of the reconciliation of former war opponents and is today a visible symbol of international understanding and the longing for peace.
Peace firs are a symbol of peace and international understanding of the International Grand Lodge of the Druids (IGLD), which was founded in 1908 with significant German participation. Scandinavian and German lodge brothers decided after the end of the Second World War that the fir tree should be used as a symbol of reconciliation among former war opponents. In addition to Wolfenbüttel, Norwegian fir trees are also handed over in Flensburg , Kiel , Wilhelmshaven and, since 2008, in Wittmund .
Another symbolic example of a handover of fir trees is the annual handover of the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree , a Norwegian fir tree usually more than 25 meters high, which is presented in thanks for the British support of Norway in World War II.
Web links
- wolfenbütteler-zeitung.de Image of the 2012 peace fir on the transport truck in front of Wolfenbüttel town hall
- wolfenbuettelheute.de : Letter of condolence from the Wolfenbüttel mayor after the attacks on July 22, 2011 in Oslo and on the island of Utøya
Individual evidence
- ↑ wolfenbuetteler-zeitung.de : Karl-Heinz Hueske: peace pine from Norway reached Wolfenbüttel. Peace fir from Drammen in Norway adorns the Wolfenbüttel Christmas market , from November 19, 2012, accessed on December 13, 2012
- ↑ wolfenbuettelheute.de : Lodge zur Bundestreue celebrates: Festival ball on the occasion of the 50th Peace Fir from Norway , accessed on November 8, 2012
- ↑ wolfenbuetteler-newspaper : Karl-Ernst Hueske: The 47th Peace fir lights on the market. Tree had to be replaced due to broken trunk , accessed on November 8, 2012
- ↑ a b wolfenbuetteler-zeitung.de : Stephan Hespos: A symbol for peace. Norwegian fir lights up the Christmas market - boxes received in the town hall. , accessed November 8, 2012
- ↑ druiden-orden.de : Fir trees as symbols of peace and international understanding , accessed on November 8, 2012