May night

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May night is a May custom in East Belgium on the night of April 30th to May 1st. That night the bachelors from the Malmedy Wallonia and the Belgian Eifel and Eupen go out to sing the song of May Night to the girls . In St. Vither and Eupener Land , small mayas decorated with colored crepe paper are also attached to the houses.

The song of May night

background

The song of May night is based on the Walloon song "Lu Nut du May", which was written in 1868 by the Malmedy local poet Florent Lebierre . It was set to music in 1898 by his brother Olivier Lebierre . Around 1900 the wife of the then District Administrator of Malmedy, Baroness Von der Heydt, translated the Walloon three-strophic song dedicated to her into German. From around 1920 the song found widespread use in Malmedyer and also in St. Vither Land, where it was serenaded by the music associations at various village locations.

song lyrics

Secretly on a clear starry night,
when no one else is watching,
at the sweet sound of
the
call of the nightingale that has returned, we go out into the bush and forest
to decorate our beloved house,
|: What a beautiful night, the May night,
when we are lucky Love laughs! : |
      
It's moving home, the happy crowd is planting
the maypole in front of sweetheart's door.
If the hammer then beats the heart,
it sounds softly skyward.
May this greeting please the maiden
and let us receive her wages.
|: Oh, how beautiful the May night,
when the happiness of love laughs at us! : |

Awakened from sleep by our singing
, she got up quickly;
peeps silently from behind the window,
thinks up thanks for tomorrow.
All our longings are heard
when our hearts and thanks grant us,
|: Thank you, you beautiful May night,
which brought us the happiness of love '. : |

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