Lindau Children's Festival
The Lindauer children's festival is considered the most important town festival of Bavarian-Swabian town of Lindau (Bodensee) deeply rooted in the identity of the residents. Its history goes back to the time of the free imperial city of Lindau in the 17th century, in 2005 the 350th anniversary was celebrated. The festival is celebrated annually on the last Wednesday before the summer holidays .
history
Valentin Heider is considered to be the founder of the children's festival . In his function as chairman of the school council, Heider introduced so-called school sermons , which, contrary to the name suggests, were primarily addressed to the parents. They should be reminded of their educational mandate. This forerunner of the children's festival, which was first held in 1655, was followed by a school lunch. The school sermons developed into a folk festival in the following period, which allowed the residents, exhausted by the Thirty Years' War , to enjoy the finer things in life. An event similar to the current one is documented as early as 1662. Since the end of the Second World War , the festival has been celebrated in an uninterrupted annual rhythm. Nowadays, a delegation from the twin town of Chelles is always present at the celebrations .
procedure
At 6 a.m. the population is awakened by cannon shots and wandering brass bands. All schoolchildren from grades 1 to 6 and their teachers gather in the respective districts to attend church services, and then move to Lindau Island with brass bands and groups of drummers in their ranks . This is where the students from the island schools join. The parade is framed by a crowd and decorated house fronts, the action is interrupted by gunfire, to which with a cheer! is answered. The cannon shots take the place of the first part of the Lindau Children's Festival Call Lindau! The route leads over the alleys of the island to Bismarckplatz. At this point is the old town hall , on whose balcony the incumbent mayor, currently Claudia Alfons , gives a speech at 9:30 a.m. This act is in the tradition of earlier school sermons. In addition, two students from cyclically selected districts will read a poem specially created for the occasion. The ceremony ends with an intonation of the Lindau children's festival song Lindau high! and the German national anthem . The children now move to the festival site on the banks of the so-called Little Lake , receive a ration of food that includes a butschelle, a circular yeast pastry with grapes and a distinctive, coarse grid pattern, and a Schübling and a drink. In addition, the children receive vouchers for the second part of the children's festival, which is similar to a folk festival in the afternoon . The pageant is then broken up, the children scatter in their neighborhoods.
Around 2 p.m., the hustle and bustle on the festival grounds, of which each district has its own, begins. In contrast to the first part, which was prepared by the city, the second part is organized by children's festival committees and voluntary helpers. This is supported by a large number of private donations. The fairgrounds are similar in appearance to folk festivals , entertainment is provided by rides and music groups.
The boys and girls involved are festively dressed for the occasion of the children's festival, and the boys also carry a two-tone, two-part flag (blue and white symbolizes Bavaria , green and white Lindau) or German flags . The girls carry a flower arch or basket from which flowers are distributed to onlookers standing on the edge during the course of the pageant, and their hair is adorned with flowers.