Sunnerklauslauf

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Children at St. Nicholas' run in Bremen, 2016

With Sunnerklauslauf or Sunnerklaaslauf (today Nikolauslauf ) a Bremen custom is called which is practiced every year on the evening of December 6th - today's St. Nicholas Day  - by children in the city of Bremen and partly in the surrounding region. The mostly disguised children, often in groups or in small groups, move through the city districts and streets after dark and walk from house to house and shop to shop, where they each say a saying or sing a song (traditionally in Low German ) and ask for sweets.

The need

history

Santa Claus, 1889

The term is derived from the Low German “ Sunte Klaas ” (Sankt Klaus): The name of the Sunnerklauslauf is St. Nicholas of Myra , a 4th century Greek bishop who was honored for his philanthropy and generosity and who was also the patron saint of merchants and seafarers was.

In the Middle Ages, Nikolaus was also a popular patron of churches and altars in Bremen. It is believed that the custom of the Sunnerklauslauf goes back to cathedral and monastery students who asked for a mild donation with the move of a child bishop Nikolaus . This Catholic custom, in which various Low German and High German songs were sung, was preserved as a kind of costume festival even in Protestant times. In the beginning it was mainly children from the poorer classes who took part in the Sunnerklauslauf, who were given something to eat. later it became a common practice.

In the 18th century, Nicholas in disguise was often viewed as pagan or papist folly, but it remained alive as a common custom. The Low German sayings or chants were performed by the disguised children in the 19th century while stamping with sticks (originally the bishop's crook ).

Nicholas sayings and lyrics

A number of Low German Nikolaus sayings and songs have been passed down, which often contain a distinctive refrain . The most famous sayings and songs include a .:

“Sunnerklaus, de grote man
knocks on all Dören,
Lütte Kinner brings him wat,
Grote puts him in a sack.

I am bün so'n lütten Schipperjung,
Mutt all mien Broot verdeen'n,
All day in't water stan
with mine korten.

Halli, halli, hello,
Nu geiht't na Bremen to! "

“Nikolaus, the big man,
knocks on all doors
. He brings something for small children, and
puts big ones in the sack.

I'm such a little cabin boy
, I have to earn all my bread,
standing in the water all day
with my short legs.

Halli, halli, hello,
now we're heading towards Bremen! "

Another stanza:

“I am so happy king. Don't give me a
little,
Loot me ain't long stohn,
Because ick mutt goon again. "

“I am such a little king.
don't give me too little,
don't let me stand too long,
because I have to go further. "

A historical St. Nicholas saying from Bremen- Hastedt :

“Miin Vadder is a cigar maker,
Miin Mudder grabs tobacco,
and if you don’t want to glorify, you
’ll get in a sack.

Halli, halli, hello,
So geit't nah Bremen to. "

“My father is a cigar maker,
my mother pulls tobacco,
and if you don't want to believe that,
I'll put you in the sack.

Halli, halli, hello,
that's the way to Bremen! "

Custom today

The Nikolauslauf has now taken on more of the character of great fun, with dressing up being less of a priority. In the neighborhood as in the shopping centers, the children's bags and sacks are filled with sweets, biscuits, fruit and other gifts when the children say their poems in droves - and usually in a hurry.

See also

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Kaya Leimann: December 6th in Bremen. Nikolauslauf through the districts . In: Weser-Kurier from December 5, 2011; Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Advent. Nikolaus : On: Website of the Bremen Evangelical Church (BEK); Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ (xja): Nikolausspruch is in demand in Hastedt . In: Weser-Kurier / District Courier Southeast . November 25, 2010, p. 1 ( online at weser-kurier.de [accessed on November 22, 2016]).