Voigtsdorf cat cradles
The Voigtsdorfer Katzenwiegen is a not very serious tradition of the Ore Mountains , which is celebrated in Voigtsdorf and in which the course of winter is to be predicted based on the weight of a house cat.
Cultural history
The origin and age of the tradition is unknown. It was forgotten during the times of the GDR and was rediscovered and revived after the fall of the Wall.
oracle
A local cat (currently "Nero", the black tomcat of the master of ceremonies Jens Lommatzsch ) is weighed publicly once on May 1st and once on Advent. Your winter weight is divided by the summer weight. The result is assessed by a specially compiled village commission, which appears in historical costumes, and from this it predicts the course of the coming winter. The whole spectacle is accompanied by a folk festival.
The motto is: "The fatter the cat, the harder the winter."
A "normal winter" was predicted for 2019/20.
criticism
The animal welfare organization PETA criticized the stress for the cat. Lommatzsch replied that he and his cat would live 30 meters away and that if they were displeased they would run home immediately.
Cultural reception
- The cat cradle is now so popular that a work of art in the form of large wooden scales with a cat on it was dedicated to it in 2017.
- Thomas "Rups" Unger (formerly De Randfichten ) even dedicated a song to the tradition: Des werd a harter Winter (De Katz)
See also
Web links
- http://www.voigtsdorfer-katzenwiegen.de/
- https://www.wetter.de/cms/voigtsdorfer-katzenwiegen-kater-nero-sagt-den-winter-vorher-4260812.html
- https://m.lvz.de/Region/Mitteldeutschland/Katerstimmung-fuer-Winterfans-Nero-bringt-zu-wenig-auf-die-Waage
- https://m.livingathome.de/land-und-berge/natur-menschen/tierwelt/17726-rtkl-winter-orakel-katzenwiegen
- https://mobile.twitter.com/hashtag/katzenwiegen