Maien (branch)
Under Maien is meant originally juice engine standing branches or trees. The name comes from the month of May .
history
The term “Maien” appeared as early as 1491 in the invoices of the ducal rent master's office in Munich .
Even at Pentecost or Corpus Christi and on the solstice , branches were called "May" if they were used to decorate secular and church festivals. They were often decorated with paper flowers that were skillfully made from crepe paper.
The birch was originally called “Maien” because it was the first tree to wake up from its winter rigor. The birch is therefore a symbol of strength and grace, the will to live and comfort, light and serenity.
Martin Luther quotes in Psalm 118 , verse 27: "Decorate the festival with May up to the horns of the altar".
The term Maien also appears in many church hymns, for example "Adorns the festival with Maien ..." in the evangelical hymn book No. 135. But folk songs also sing about the Maien, such as "How beautifully the Maien blooms".
In Bavarian there is the verb "maien", which means something like "amuse oneself, amused".
Individual evidence
- ^ M. Wiswe: Whitsun May in the Salzgitter area. In: Salzgitter-Jahrbuch, Ed. Geschichtsverein Salzgitter eV, Vol. 21/22, 1999/2000, p. 154
- ↑ Protestant hymn book
- ↑ Hans Breuer (ed.): Der Zupfgeigenhansl . Friedrich Hofmeister, 10th edition Leipzig 1913, p. 126