Parish tree
A Kirchweih tree , or Kirmesbaum or Kerbebaum is usually the center of a Kirchweih .
designation
Because of the widespread use of the church consecration and the respective local peculiarities, various names have become established in the regional dialects:
- Kirwa tree in the Upper Palatinate
- Kärwa tree in Franconia
- Fair tree in the northern regions of the Hintertaunus , in North , Central and East Hesse from the Limburg-Weilburg district upwards, in the Eifel , in the Westerwald , in North Rhine-Westphalia , in Lower Saxony , in Rhineland-Palatinate , Thuringia and Saxony
- Kerwebaam in the Hunsrück
- Kerbebaum in the regions of Upper Hintertaunus , Hochtaunuskreis , Frankfurt , Offenbach , southwest Wetteraukreis , Main-Kinzig-Kreis , northeast Saarland and Rheinhessen
construction
The fairground tree is usually a straight conifer that has been delimbed except for a few branches at the top. In places with the appropriate number of staff for the tree site or technical aids, larger constructions are also used, in which only the tip of a conifer tree is placed on another trunk, which may have been used for several years. The top and trunk are decorated in bright colors. Strips of crepe paper are common, but metal or plastic foils or colored lamps are also used. Carvings in the bark are also common in natural logs. Often a wreath of conifer branches is attached to the trunk below the point.
Customs around the church fair tree
The customs around the church fair tree are diverse. In some places it is common not to drive into the forest with tractors and trailers until Saturday in order to cut down the tree (usually a spruce ) that has been selected beforehand and bring it to the village. The tree must not break through when felled, special attention is paid to the sensitive tip in particular. In some villages the tree is already "brought in" on Friday, in other places it is prepared several days in advance, especially where a point is placed on another trunk.
Tree guard and wreath bandages
In some regions, for example in many places in the Westerwald, it is customary to store the tree in a certain place for one or more days before setting it up and to have it guarded by the fair boys or kids, especially at night. Traditionally, the funfair boys of other ages or the neighboring towns have the task of stealing the tree, smearing it with paint or even sawing it up. The loss of the tree is considered a great shame. Under certain circumstances, it can be triggered again for larger ransom payments in the form of alcohol. The tree guards, at least in the early hours of the night, often take the form of unofficial pre-fairground celebrations with campfires and improvised catering.
Wreath-making is a similar preparation practice. The fair girls play the decisive role. A few days before the fair, they make the wreath that is hung under the crown of the tree. This process is also accompanied by an unofficial celebration.
Pub trees
In addition to the large fair tree, smaller, also decorated trees are set up in front of the local restaurants in many places. This usually takes place several days before the actual fair as part of a parade of the fairground youth, who are entertained with free beer. The trunks of these trees are often nailed with beer mats.
Put up
As a rule, on the Saturday afternoon of the parish fair, the parish tree is erected, often with bare muscle power, with the help of long pairs of poles and supports ("swallows and stamps"). Occasionally it is carried through the village beforehand by the installation team in a festive procession, in some places it is also driven with tractors. This move is usually accompanied by a brass band or by torchbearers.
There are various local traditions for setting up. For example, in Westerwald and Taunus there is the office of the fair or notch father who is in charge of setting up the tree. Often it is a carpenter, forest worker or employee of the municipal building yard with the appropriate specialist knowledge. In some places only the fairground youth and the fairground father are allowed to participate in the tree positions, in other locations only active and former fairground boys are allowed or the participation is completely released, the latter especially in places where only a small number of actual fairground boys can be provided. In communities with very strong fair youth groups, in some places it is not the currently active fair young people who put the tree, but the aspiring youth of the following year (s) take on the physical work, while the active year mocks their performance. It is considered honorable to put the tree as quickly as possible.
Dance out
Usually on the Sunday afternoon of the parish fair, the parish fair couples dance the tree out. They usually dance to traditional dances in a circle around the church fair tree. In addition, Kirchweihlieder or Gstanzln are often sung.
Lottery or auction of the church fair tree
In many places, the parish fair tree is raffled or auctioned at the end of the parish fair, usually on the Monday after the fair weekend. The lots will be sold during the festival weekend. In addition to the main prize, the parish fair tree, there are often other prizes. Often there is also a combination of raffle and auction . In many localities it is common for the winner of the church fair tree to return it to the church fair company so that they can then auction the church fair tree.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Ursensollner Kirwa Customs. In: kirwagemeinschaft.de. Kirwagemeinschaft Ursensollen, accessed on December 18, 2015 .
- ↑ Set up a fair tree in East Hesse (Schlitz, Fulda)
- ↑ Obertiefenbach (Beselich) #Obertiefenbacher fair
- ↑ District Limburg-Weilburg: Holleser Kirmes (main page Kirmes Lindenholzhausen)
- ↑ Fair customs in Central Hesse: Fair in Langenbach (customs, songs, information)
- ↑ Fair customs in Mühlhausen (Thuringia) (customs, information, setting up a fair tree)
- ↑ Kerbebaum in the Hochtaunuskreis: "The Kerbebaum is there" (in Usingen) ( Memento from June 22, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) (Usinger Neue Presse, with photo)
- ↑ Notch tree in the southern Wetterau district: to the notch in Bad Nauheim (Bad Vilbeler Neue Presse)
- ↑ Main-Kinzig-Kreis: The notch tree is set up - Video about the notch in Biebergemünd (on YouTube)
- ↑ Rheinhessen: Installation of the notch tree for the notch in Presberg (Rheingau Echo)
- ↑ Festschrift des Burschenverein 07 Raigering on the 100th anniversary
- ↑ Andreas Brückmann: A proud 1025 euros for the Kirwa tree. There was a happy three-day celebration at the Kopf-Kirwa in Heimhof: with 18 couples, a stately tree, dances and music. In: Mittelbayerische.de. Mittelbayerischer Verlag KG, August 6, 2015, accessed on December 21, 2015 .