Mossman (Christmas figure)
The Moosmann (also Moosmännel , Moosmaa or Vogtl. Muesmoa ) is the symbol of Vogtland Christmas . Although it is basically typical for the entire Vogtland , today it is only a living custom in a few areas .
The legend
The moss man as a Christmas figure goes back to the moss man of the legend , who - even living in deepest need - was always at the side of good people in their poverty. Moosmann and Moosweibel, only three feet high, lived in the deep forest under tree sticks and in caves, fed poorly on the roots and fruits of the forest and clad themselves poorly with moss and fir branches. They only had one enemy, the "Wild Hunter". They were safe from him and his entourage under the tree trunks and sticks in which the woodcutters had made three crosses. The Moss people were friendly towards the people. They especially helped the poor, and the leaves - there had to be three handfuls - with which they rewarded good deeds, turned to gold, so that the plight of the poor forest dwellers came to an end.
During the Christmas season, the moss men flee from the inhospitable, snow-covered forest to the people in the Christmas rooms and stay there for twelve nights before returning to their beloved and so useful forest.
According to folklorists , the moss man who wears the Christmas light is a reminder of the dormant life under warm mosses in winter and the returning sun.
History and folk art
In the vast forest areas in the east, south-east and north-west of the Vogtland, the moss man was still being tinkered as the bearer of the Christmas light in the second half of the 19th century. The centerpiece of the figure was the so-called “bankert”, a simple wooden skeleton made of an unassembled trunk with nailed arms and inserted legs. Hands and feet, mostly covered by skilled carvers, were glued to arms and legs. The carvers also supplied the heads, unless the hobbyists were satisfied with providing their moss man with a head made of porcelain or later made of celluloid . The moss man received a cardboard suit, which was mostly made by women and which - that is the most important thing - was completely covered with moss. The Mossman carried the Christmas light in one hand, and a tree branch as a walking stick in the other.
The hobbyists did not stop at this primitive form. Over the years, moss men in the shape of knights, soldiers, hunters, foresters and forest walkers have emerged who, instead of the simple Christmas light, carried a small rotating tower, a flying buttress or a small fir tree. But what they all have in common is the dress of green moss from the native forest.
In the eastern Vogtland, where the folk art of carving developed strongly after 1945, the Falkensteiner wood carvers in particular set out with success to awaken the almost forgotten Moosmann to new life, to carve him entirely from limewood and give him a legend To give appearance.
When the old moss men were doing handicrafts, they were often driven by bitter economic hardship: “In the cities, poor children are looking to earn a few pennies, they build pyramids from wooden sticks that are covered with moss or colored paper and attached to which dills are attached with lights. Or they make moss men in Reichenbach to sell them on the Christmas market. Johann August Ernst Köhler in 1867 in his work " Folk Customs, Superstition, Legends and Other Old Traditions in Voigtlande ".
However, you can find Moosmann stories and Moosmann sagas in the books of fairy tales from the Thuringian Forest to the Ore Mountains near Dresden. Seen in this way, the typical Vogtland figure became the general Moosmann.
literature
- Horst Föhlich: The Moosmann - a legendary figure in custom . in: Landesverein Sächsischer Heimatschutz , Saxon State Center for Political Education (ed.): Rural area in Saxony. Dresden 2017, pp. 295–297
- Günter Hummel: The Vogtland Moosmann and his ancestors. In: Yearbook of the Hohenleuben-Reichenfels Museum , No. 40 (Hohenleuben 1995) 45–68.
- Friedrich Barthel : The Vogtland Moosmann figure in folk art and folk poetry. Folklore Center Erzgebirge / Vogtland, Schneeberg 1987 (56 pages).
- Friedrich Barthel (author), Hans Mau (illustrator), Der Moosmann from Wie ich miech af Christmas fraa, 1970 (222 pages), Verlag Friedrich Hofmeister VEB
- Anonymous: Moosmann and Zuckermännle. Vogtland District Museum, Plauen 1965