Schiltacher New Year's Eve train

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The New Year's Eve train in the so-called Vorstädtle

The Schiltacher New Year's Eve procession in Schiltach in the Black Forest , Baden-Wuerttemberg is a historical custom of church origin that takes place every year on New Year's Eve in the city to this day. It is a kind of procession . However, the New Year's Eve train is unique in its kind and is an important cultural heritage of the city and the region.

history

Origins

The actual origin cannot yet be clearly reconstructed. The local researcher Julius Hauth does not see the creation of the New Year's Eve train before 1811 and justifies this with the fact that the songs that are sung on the New Year’s Eve train are clearly of Pietistic origin.

So Julius Hauth:

“The basic idea of ​​the New Year's Eve procession is to sing religious songs on the last day of the year as thanks to God. This New Year's Eve singing can only be seen in connection with the development of New Year's Day into the New Year's holiday. The Christian Church had no ecclesiastical New Year holiday and rejected the desire of the church people for one. Only after the Reformation did the wish come to fruition. Around 1800, New Year's Day was recognized in the Protestant church as a church New Year's holiday with appropriate singing, appropriate liturgy and sermon. Now, especially in pietistic circles, the desire for an equally worthy end to the old year had arisen. "

A document from 1853 found in the city archives in 2010, on the other hand, speaks of an "old custom" and therefore suggests that the origin of the solemn procession can be found at least in the 18th century. Since there were most of the Pietists in Schiltach around this time and three songs in the little song book for the New Year's Eve procession are of Pietistic origin, it is now assumed that the New Year’s Eve procession was initiated by Pietists. They wanted to find a venerable end to the old year and thank God for it. This wish must be seen in connection with the development of New Year's Day into New Year's Day. Originally they met at the upper gate, which no longer exists today, and went to the parsonage , singing with the song Now thank God, everyone .

Further development

In 1869 an order for the New Year's Train was the church council decided. The main teacher at the time, J. Höflin, who wrote down the songs and composed the melodies , wrote a letter to support the preservation and order in the New Year's Eve train. To this day, it takes place every New Year's Eve, following a long-standing tradition. The Schiltachers have kept the New Year's Eve procession as their very own religious custom of celebrating the New Year's Eve. Even today, the New Year's Eve train is not a pure attraction in the usual sense, but is a historical and cultural event deeply rooted in the community. Under no circumstances should it be confused with carnival parades or even other recent New Year's Eve customs . Even if the ecclesiastical and historical background fades a little, the New Year's Eve procession can still be seen against this background as a thank you from the congregation to God for the year that is coming to an end.

Songs of the New Years Eve train

Procedure and rules of the train

procedure

Classic lantern as it is used in a train

At 8:15 p.m., the participants go to the market square . The big bell of the town church starts to ring at 8:30 p.m. and the New Year's Eve procession is formed.

Gathering of the participants before the start of the train at the market square

The first song is intoned. All participants should sing along. The New Year's Eve procession goes singing from the historical market square through the so-called "Vorstädtle" over the city bridge to the ev. The front part of the procession stands in front of the rectory on arrival at the rectory . The evangelical pastor of the parish gives a sermon from the parsonage window and gives the present and the parish the blessing . The train then moves back in the opposite direction to the market square. There the mayor reflected on the past year in a speech and the municipal council chairman gave a short speech on work in the city. Finally, the town band and glee club agree solemn ways such as " Silent Night " on, before the participants with the wish " Good slip auseindergehen" and celebrate the New Year.

The participants only carry old wooden lanterns during the train. It is still a custom to switch off the electrical lighting in the houses along the route and in the historic old town and only illuminate the Christmas tree on the window or light it with candles. Otherwise, the entire train route is only illuminated with pitch torches . This, together with the half-timbered image of the medieval old town, creates a unique flair that attracts many visitors every year. The men who got married in the past year are traditionally assigned by the city to stewardship and watch over the pitch torches and compliance with the rules and order.

Remarks

Related to this is the custom of the two Schiltach night watchmen on New Year's Eve.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Julius Hauth: Schiltach . Ed .: City of Schiltach. 1st edition. Karl Schillinger, Freiburg 1980, ISBN 3-921340-48-9 , p. 401 ff .
  2. ^ City of Schiltach in the Black Forest | Historical development. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c Dr. Hans Harter: in writings of the historical association for Mittelbaden (PDF), accessed on January 24, 2020
  4. ^ City of Schiltach in the Black Forest | Historical development. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .
  5. ^ City of Schiltach in the Black Forest | Historical development. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Song book for the New Year's Eve procession, published by Stadt Schiltach.
  7. ^ City of Schiltach in the Black Forest | Schiltacher New Year's Eve train. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .