Easter wheel
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An Easter wheel is a wooden fire wheel that, in some rural areas, is rolled down a slope at night on fire.
description
Easter wheels are made of oak and stuffed with straw , which is held in place in the wheels by woven hazelnut rods . The wheels can weigh up to 300 kg and hold an additional 120 kg of straw, they are provided with inscriptions in the oak body.
Popular belief and tradition
The custom of rolling burning Easter wheels from the mountain into the valley is said to date from pagan-Germanic times. People celebrated the beginning of spring with fire. It should bring light into the darkness. Depending on the steepness and length of the slope, these bikes reach high speeds. According to popular belief, if they don't stop on the way, but arrive at the foot of the slope, this indicates a good harvest.
Venues
The city Lügde in Lippe halfway between Detmold and Hameln in Weserbergland describes itself as a "city of Easter wheels". But this custom is also practiced in Günsterode , Ahlen-Dolberg and Weyhe . All in all, it is only rarely found today, especially in northern Germany, the Harz Mountains and the Austrian Alpine region.
Easter bike race in Lügde
preparation
There is a Dechenverein in Lügde with around 600 members for the preparation and implementation . On the Monday before the event, the bikes will be lowered into the water in the Emmer to soak up water. The wheels shouldn't burn, just the straw in them. On Maundy Thursday, the hazelnut rods are turned so that 15 to 20 bundles of rye straw can be braided into the wheels.
procedure
On Holy Saturday, the Easter wheels are fetched from the Emmer. Horse-drawn carts take them from the town's market square to the Osterberg with a procession through the historic old town on Easter Sunday afternoon. When it gets dark, the run can start. Illuminated on the Osterberg is a cross that was set up in protest in 1935 because the National Socialists had made ideological use of the custom. When all the Easter bikes have started their run in the safety nets in the valley, the event ends with fireworks and the Easter disco in the Emmerauenpark .
literature
- Ulrich Traub: Triumph over darkness. In: Evangelische Zeitung, No. 12, March 25, 2018, p. 8.
- Heinz Schilling: Confessional Conflict and State Building. Gütersloh 1981. (= Sources and research on the Reformation, Vol. 48.)
Web links
- Dechenverein Lügde as the organizer of the Easter Wheel Run
- Pictures from the Osterräderlauf
- Newspaper report "Dechenverein waters wheels for Easter bike race"
- Easter wheel run - tourist offer
- Easter wheel race in Lügde on youtube
Individual evidence
- ↑ Inscriptions on the Easter wheels since 1950
- ↑ Charlemagne is said to have implemented a change when he learned of the custom of welcoming spring with fire wheels: The spokes of the fire wheels had to have a cross symbol - they still do today (Ulrich Traub, see literature)
- ↑ Pagan-Germanic tradition of the burning Easter wheels on the website www.burgdame.de
- ↑ According to the website of the Dechenverein in Lügde, the word "Dechen" means "Customs Guard".
- ↑ Program of the Osterräderlauf