Vorarlberg customs
The Vorarlberg Customs describes customs, customs and celebrations, in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg are maintained and celebrated. These differ largely from the customs in the rest of Austria, since Vorarlberg belongs to the Alemannic culture. Nevertheless, essential customs are traditionally Catholic, as 78% of the population of Vorarlberg belong to the Roman Catholic Church.
Accordingly, the customs during the year are divided into an economic, a rural and an ecclesiastical year. Certain customs can also be divided into the circle of life (events that occur once in a person's life) and the annual cycle (periodically recurring customs).
Customs in the annual cycle
In order to maintain an overview, the festivals and customs occurring here have been sorted by date, starting on the first day of the year and ending with the New Year's Eve on December 31. The farming year traditionally begins on November 11th, i.e. on Martini, the farmers' original payday. The church year begins with the Advent season, as is common in Christianity. However, this list is based on the economic year, which begins on January 1st.
Wish New Year
's Neujohr Ahwünscha is a very old tradition in rural Vorarlberg. On January 1st of each year, the neighbors and relatives are “wished” the New Year . Specifically, this means that children in particular wish those who are close to them a Happy New Year as well as good luck and blessings. Most often this takes the form of a little saying or a poem. Often the children get a little something as a present, in the past it was often something sweet. The adults from Vorarlberg also traditionally wish each other luck for the coming year, which is why the period from January 1st to 6th is often used for visiting relatives.
carnival
In Vorarlberg, Mardi Gras (or Mardi Gras ) begins, like almost everywhere, on November 11th and extends until Ash Wednesday . In Vorarlberg, a form of Swabian-Alemannic Carnival is celebrated with large carnival parades and a number of balls. Mardi Gras enjoys a high priority among the population in all of Vorarlberg and is accordingly celebrated lively.
A special Vorarlberg carnival custom is stealing a roast on a fat Thursday ( dialect : gumpiga Thursday from gumpa - jumping up and down). This custom dates back to the 13th century, when fools were allowed to steal the roast from the monastery kitchen before Shrovetide. Today the roast is prepared by members of the carnival guild and stolen by members of the carnival guild. However, it does happen that pranksters mix something in the roast or steal the roast from innocent people.
Customs such as Guggenmusik were adopted from neighboring Switzerland.
Bonfire
The spark fire tradition is widespread in Vorarlberg . Almost everywhere in the country are in the nights from Saturday to Funkensonntag or from that great on the following Monday stake - called spark - burned down. This custom is celebrated as a folk festival and, according to the old popular belief, is supposed to drive out the winter. In the meantime, the spark fire has established itself in almost every municipality in Vorarlberg and numerous spark guilds have been founded. These often prepare a second, smaller spark, called the children's spark, which is ignited in the afternoon or early evening, while the spark itself is normally only ignited after dark. At the same time as the spark festival, a kind of show program is usually offered , such as fireworks , sound fireworks or the traditional slamming of the windows .
Midsummer bonfire
Emerged only in recent years and has not yet spread throughout Vorarlberg is the Sonnwendfeuer . Since a fire is burned down at this festival too, many Vorarlbergers see the solstice fire as synonymous with the bonfire. Hardly anyone is aware of the extremely different histories of the two fires and of the great cultural differences. While the bonfire is based on a very old Alemannic custom and still has a lot to do with superstition today , the originally pagan solstice fire was annexed by the Catholic Church and converted into a St. John's fire.
Moa and Halloween
A regional specialty in Vorarlberg is the Halloween- reminiscent custom of moas . This is a custom that is mainly practiced by children. From the beginning of September to around the end of October , people walk from house to house with a carved pumpkin face - the so-called moo , which is supposed to be reminiscent of a moon face - and ask for something sweet with a saying, a song or a poem . In contrast to Halloween, however, there is no threat of revenge if you don't get anything. The children do not dress up in this custom either. In the meantime, however, the custom has to give way to Halloween, which was adopted from America. Many Vorarlbergers are skeptical of this development because they fear that old customs will be displaced and violence will increase.
Feast of St. Nicholas
Every year on December 6th, the feast of St. Nicholas is celebrated. In many communities in Vorarlberg, members of the church parishes disguise themselves as Nikolaus and his assistant Knecht Ruprecht , who is also known as Krampus . These then visit the households of their parish district on the evenings before December 6th and on this themselves. They read out what the children did well and less well in the past year. The children often sing songs for St. Nicholas or read poems before they are presented with a St. Nicholas bag (usually filled with sweets).
Advent and Christmas
Christmas is a typically Catholic festival in Vorarlberg. It hardly differs from the customs of other Catholic regions. In the run-up to Christmas, an Advent wreath is often made from fir branches, on which a candle is lit every Advent Sunday . Christmas itself is traditionally celebrated on the evening of December 24th with the giving of presents (i.e. giving presents to each other). As is common in almost all Catholic households, a Christmas tree is set up and decorated in Vorarlberg . When choosing the Christmas dishes, it is noticeable that, typical for the region, cheese dishes are given preference over fish and meat dishes. On the evening of December 24th, many Vorarlbergers traditionally go to Christmas mass . On December 25th and 26th, relatives are visited or invited in many families.
Customs in life
The festivals and customs that occur here are all those that are based on the life of the Vorarlberger concerned.
birth
In Vorarlberg, most children are born in hospitals under hygienic conditions, sometimes even with special birthing methods. In-house births are more the exception than the rule, so even more babies are born in the ambulance on the way to the hospital than at home.
baptism
Usually, children in the Catholic-dominated Vorarlberg are baptized 1 to 2 months after their birth in their future home parish . Relatives or very close friends are often chosen as godparents. This connection to the godfather is traditionally always very strong in Vorarlberg, even with advancing age. The male Taufpate is in Vorarlberg as Gotte referred to as the female godmother Gotta .
First communion and confirmation
The date of the Catholic First Communion and Confirmation differs from parish to parish. Most of the Vorarlberg children come to their first communion at the age of 8 (in the 2nd grade of the elementary school ) and for confirmation at the age of 12 (in the 2nd grade of the secondary school ). In some parishes, however, young people are only confirmed at the age of 16 or even 18. Usually, First Communion takes place on White Sunday , the first Sunday after Easter, while Confirmation takes place on Pentecost . The child's guardian at communion is the respective godfather. During confirmation, the young person appoints another godfather, the so-called company godmother (again called confirmation gods or confirmation gotta ). Usually, the feast of Holy First Communion is celebrated with the family and in white clothing (usually a white robe), there are no dress codes at Confirmation.
literature
- Dr. Artur Schwarz: Local history of Vorarlberg . Eugen Russ Verlag, Bregenz 1949.
- Monika Hehle: 's Ländlejohr . Hecht Verlag, Hard 2000, ISBN 3-85298-076-3 .