Light puppet
The light doll is one of the traditional Christmas light carriers in some areas of the Ore Mountains and the Vogtland . The designs and appearance of the light puppets vary from place to place. Especially in Crottendorf and Pobershau , the light dolls are part of the traditional Christmas decorations .
Origin and finishes
The light dolls, which are placed in the windows facing the street on Christmas Eve , symbolized the Christ Child in the religious families of the Ore Mountains . The figures were made from a wooden body with a doll's head, initially from carved wood or paper mache , later from painted porcelain . In some areas the light puppets have a pointed hood, in other areas they have long, blonde hair. The arms and legs of the figures were often turned or intricately carved. In the simpler version, the extremities were also formed from dough in the 19th century .
The puppet figures were originally dressed in a white dress made of cotton , linen or, more rarely, silk , which was held in place by a - mostly gold - belt . The candlelight was carried by the figures in their right and left hands or on an arc of light that was held by their left and right hands. Many of the figures - especially in the Pobershau area - were designed as yoke-bearing angel lights . On a candle-bearing yoke above the figure, the words Glory to God on high were affixed.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the fabric dress in the Crottendorf area was replaced by a warm coat made of fur , usually rabbit fur . The winter doll was complemented by mostly carved or leather-covered boots and a pointed hood . In the 20th century, the faces were made almost exclusively from painted biscuit porcelain , and hair was attached under the hood to give the dolls an attractive appearance. In traditional households, the light blue or pink color of the bonnet or dress indicated whether there were male or female descendants in the house . Today, in addition to traditional white, light blue and pink robes, other pastel-colored dresses are also offered for light dolls. In addition to candles, light arcs with electrical lighting are also used today . These days, dolls of lights carry light arches decorated with fir trees or fir branches and candles in their hands.
The light puppets are always set up in private houses, while the similar-looking Bornkinnel , which have a sacred meaning, are placed on the altar of Protestant churches in this region at Christmas time.
Ore Mountains light puppets are now exhibited as exhibits in regional and national local and folklore museums, including the Manufactory of Dreams in Annaberg , the Museum of Mining Folk Art in Schneeberg , and the German Angel Museum in Engelskirchen .
See also
literature
- Manfred Blechschmidt : Engel & Bergmann - Christmas in the Ore Mountains . Husum 1995, ISBN 3-88042-715-1
- Manfred Blechschmidt: Christmas customs in the Erzgebirge , Altis-Verlag, Friedrichsthal 2010, ISBN 978-3-910195-60-8
- Erhard Heinold & Alix Paulsen: Ore Mountains Customs ABC . Husum 2003, ISBN 3-89876-061-8
Individual evidence
- ^ Regina Krippner: The Museum for Mining Folk Art Schneeberg. Retrieved December 24, 2016 .
- ↑ a b Crottendorfer Lichterengel - German Angel Museum. In: engel-museum.de. Retrieved December 24, 2016 .
- ↑ The story of the Erzgebirge light puppets; Angel of lights. (No longer available online.) In: www.lichterpuppen.de. Archived from the original on January 4, 2016 ; accessed on December 24, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ 1920 - German Angel Museum. In: engel-museum.de. Retrieved December 24, 2016 .
