Sock wreath
The sock wreath is a custom that is widespread in northern Germany. It is named after the door wreath decorated with socks that is used. The sock wreath is hung over the front door of an unmarried young man on the occasion of his 25th birthday as a symbol of his late celibacy. This means that the person concerned is identified as an old sock due to his or her celibacy in "old age" .
distribution
The custom of the sock wreath is mainly practiced in the Münsterland , Emsland , Oldenburger Münsterland , Osnabrücker Land as well as in East Friesland , East Westphalia , the district of Diepholz and the county of Bentheim . As a counterpart to the sock wreath, there is a box wreath for women for their 25th birthday.
In other regions of north-west Germany, such as the Ruhr area or parts of Lower Saxony, it is more common as a single man not to have to do something until his 30th birthday, such as sweeping the stairs of the town hall, which is also a normal tradition in the above-mentioned areas. For the ladies, the 30th clinic is cleaned there.
production
The wreath is often made with good friends and acquaintances without the person being celebrated with all friends. A wreath often reaches 50 m or more. These are stuffed with old newspaper or straw, for example.
Performing the ritual
Before hanging, the sock wreath is walked off by and by the birthday child. An alcoholic drink (schnapps or beer) is often emptied for every meter that has passed. The wreath is generally removed after three to four weeks. This is traditionally celebrated again accordingly.
variant
In some areas, it doesn't matter whether the birthday boy is married or not. Here the person in question is called an old sock simply because of his age .
In addition, in some regions there is a bottle ring (" Kuemmerlingkranz ") instead of a sock ring for unmarried 25-year-old men.
However, if the person turns 25 in a leap year, they will be brought a box wreath instead, since the wreaths are swapped in a leap year. However, this exchange is not known everywhere, so you can decide at your own discretion.
World record
On the occasion of the 825th anniversary of the village of Halverde , the village youth of the CAJ- Halverde made the longest sock wreath in the world on May 17, 2014 and thus made it into the Guinness Book of Records . The wreath measured 6,066 meters and counted 69,152 socks. This broke the old record (3,184 meters and 35,128 socks) from New Zealand.
Web links
literature
- Kerstin Ehlert, thirty - single - funny? , Schmerse 2005, p. 39.
- Ilona Nagy, Kincső Verebélyi, Folklore in 2000: Voces amicorum Guilhelmo Voigt sexagenario , 2000, p. 412.
- Hans Weiss, The Birthday Cult: Interesting - Curious - Amusing , Norderstedt 2010, p. 120.