Children's bird shooting in heather
Kindervogelschießen in Heide is a children and school festival in Heide in Holstein , which, like in many communities in northern Germany, arose in the course of the 19th century. The traditional elements of this festival are procession, games and dancing.
origin
The children bird shooting has its origins in the old shooting guilds . Many rifle guilds were named Papagoyengilde - for example the Heider Papagoyengilde from 1603 - which is derived from the colorful wooden bird that reminded of a parrot. While the crossbow was initially used for shooting, in the course of the early modern period people started shooting at the bird with firearms . Similar school festivals developed in other parts of Germany and some neighboring countries. For example, the Barther Children's Festival in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 1828 or the eagle shooting during the “ Rod Festival ” in Ravensburg, Upper Swabia, which has been held since 1823. In the Swiss city of Zurich the popular boy shooting has been going on since 1899 .
History of Heider Children's Bird Shooting
Children's bird shooting was celebrated for the first time in Heide in 1894 and in Brunsbüttelkoog in 1898. Büsum has been keeping records of their bird shooting since 1904, but according to the records of the city archives, the children's festival was started in the 1870s. In some cities, children's bird shooting was not introduced until the 20th century. Krumstedt has been celebrating the festival since 1972, Krempel only since 1992.
In the first years of Heider children's bird shooting, only secondary schools took part. In the years around 1900, around 1,500 participating students can be determined annually. The elementary schools were only gradually added. During the First World War and the years of inflation, there was no child's bird shooting and also during the Second World War there was a multi-year break of the festival. Due to the large immigration of refugees, among others, after the war, up to 5,000 children took part in the 1950s.
In most municipalities, the secondary schools no longer take part in the children's bird shooting, so it has become a pure festival of the primary schools. This process began in Heide as early as the 1950s. Since the 1990s, only primary school students from Heid have participated, so that the number of participants has now shrunk to less than 1,000 children.
The city of Heide is the sponsor of the festival, which is financed by donations. In the first decades it was organized by a municipal committee. In 1960 the “Association for the Promotion of Heider Children's Bird Shooting” emerged from the festival committee. The commissions that took over individual aspects of the organization were taken over by the friends' association.
procedure
Due to its origin, children's bird shooting is roughly based on the ceremonial of the rifle or papagoy guilds. The celebration takes place before the summer holidays. The process of the entire festival varies from city to city, also in terms of implementation. In Heide, the festival was initially celebrated on one day, but since the Second World War it has been extended to two days. Today it takes place in Heide on Tuesdays and Wednesdays two weeks before the summer holidays.
Usually different games are organized for the children first. Until the end of the 1980s, these took place in a central location, where they were contested by all schools together. In the beginning it was the meadow of the Ziegelhof, an excursion restaurant at the gates of Heide, later the games took place for a long time on the Fichtenhain racecourse, then on the MTV square.
In Heide the games used to be staggered according to age. The older students shot the colorful wooden bird with their crossbows and later with firearms in order to identify a king. Other games were planned for the younger students, such as traditional fish piercing, can throwing or sack race. The children receive presents after the games. According to reports from the Heider Anzeiger , at the beginning of Heider children's bird shooting, the gifts consisted of books or school bags, among other things. For the older students, silver spoons were available as prizes for shooting the bird down. This tradition can also be found in the Heider Papagoy Guild.
After the games there is a big parade of all Heider students through the whole city to the market square. It is common to make marching bands that still accompany the move today. Flower and flag decorations, depending on the parade even floats, are traditionally also part of the children's parade. In the 1950s, the individual classes began to come up with mottos.
Dance events in the halls and bars of Heides and the surrounding area conclude the festival day or days.
literature
- Theo Lübbe: Heide. Portrait of a City , ed. by the magistrate of the city of Heide, Heide 1982.
- Georg Marten: The Chronicle of Heide , Heide 1935. S. 147.
- Maria Metz-Becker (Ed.): Rocking horse and lace-up corset. Childhood around 1800 , Marburg 2002.
- Museumsinsel Lüttenheid , Claudia Graf (Ed.): Children's bird shooting in Heide , booklet accompanying the exhibition, Heide 2020
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Georg Marten: The Chronicle of Heide . Heide 1935, p. 147 .
- ↑ 125 years of children's bird shooting in Heide. In: West Coast Open Channel. Retrieved April 20, 2020 (German).
- ↑ Vogelschießen - St. George School - Heide. Retrieved April 20, 2020 .
- ↑ Georg Marten: The Chronicle of Heide . Heide 1935, p. 150 .