Schappen
With Schappen (Slovenian: šapanje ), Tschappen , Pisnen or Frisch und Gsund Wichsen , children in Carinthia and elsewhere go from house to house on the day of the innocent children , December 28, and wish good health and happiness for the New Year while they are with us Twigs or rods work the buttocks of adults. The custom that - identical or similar - also bears names elsewhere such as B. "Biesnen", "Auffrischen", "Aufkindeln" etc., is an old fertility magic as well as a common usage , because in spite of their physical punishment, the children expect that they will be presented with candy or coins.
On this day, the focus is actually on the commemoration of the child murder in Bethlehem at the behest of King Herod ( Mt 2.16 EU ) and for this there is now a symbolic punishment of the adults by children. The well-meaning verses that accompany the “chastisement” can only be explained by the pagan origin of the custom: The “rod” was regarded as the “rod of life and happiness”.
There may be locally different regulations in the form of custom now practiced. For example, the period of allowed "Schappen" may be limited to the morning or the age of the participants to attend compulsory school, but in Feistritz an der Gail , for example, Schappen is still a part of fraternity customs. In the past, shoveling was supposedly only practiced by men in the Slovene-speaking countries, whereby the blow with the rod should bring blessings to children and promote fertility.
Verses in use:
- "Fresh and healthy, fresh and healthy,
- Live long and stay healthy
- and a happy new year!
- Fresh and healthy, fresh and healthy
- Long live and healthy stay
- nothing to complain and nothing to clog
- until i wieda kum schlogn! ".
or in the Klagenfurt area
- "Schipp Schapp fresh and healthy,
- live long, stay healthy,
- and a happy neigs yeah,
- not sounding not sounding,
- until i wieda kum schlågn! "
Lower Carinthia area:
"Fresh and healthy, fresh and healthy, long live, stay healthy, ned klunzn ned klogn until I wida kumm schlogn. De Engalan with de goldanen Hoor wish you a good neigs Johr"
The following saying is common in Eastern Styria :
- “Fresh and healthy, fresh and healthy
- all year round pumperlg'sund,
- like to give, long live, to die blissfully,
- Christkindl at the high altar,
- I wish you for the new year. "
In southern Styria:
- "Fresh and healthy, fresh and healthy
- live long, stay healthy,
- s'Christkindl at the high altar
- I wish a guats neigs Joar. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Georg Graber, The stroke with the rod of life (schap´n, fresh and g´sungd, göb´n, lease, lesg´n, pisnen or plissnen), an ancient form of the earth cult . In: Carinthia I. , 100th year, issue No. 1. Klagenfurt 1910, pp. 3–6.
- ↑ s. Pictures from Schappen 2011 - 2014 ( Memento of the original from December 30, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Niko Kuret, the festive year of Slovenians. Customs throughout the year. Klagenfurt 1996, p. 213, quoted from Sabrina Maria Kuschnig, Bräuche in den bilingual localities of Carinthia ..., Vienna 2012, p. 87
