Donut snapper
Donut snappers are devices that are used in East Tyrol and Pustertal when the custom of donut begging is used.
Around All Saints Day , boys dressed in white shirts and with fur masks in front of their faces go from house to house and use their donut snappers for the poor souls. Donut snapper are wooden poles with all kinds of animal heads at the end, the lower jaw of which can be moved with a string. This creates a rattling noise. As a thank you, the boys traditionally receive donuts (hence the name), in modern times other sweets or even just money.
The frequently expressed interpretation as a pagan custom for the dead is speculation. In fact, it is a hypocrite use .
Web links
- Krapfenschnappen in East Tyrol
- About customs and folk culture in Tyrol
- "Krapfenschnappern" (1984) - a film by Olaf Bockhorn and Lisl Nopp from the collection of the Federal Institute for Scientific Film (ÖWF) in the online archive of the Austrian Media Library