Witches and Walpurgis Night

On arrival in the Harz on April 27, we spotted witches on practically each corner of every street in the village where we stayed, Sankt Andreasberg. We soon learned that this had to do with witches and the celebration of 'Walpurgis Night' on April 30. It is the Christian feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century abbess. She was hailed by the Christians of Germany for battling pest, rabies and whooping cough. She was also known to repel the effects of witchcraft.

According to 17th century German tradition, sorcerers and witches gathered on May Day eve on a Hexennacht or "Witches' Night". The Western Christian Church established the Feast of Saint Walpurga on the same night, believing that Saint Walpurga counteracted the evil magic.
In Germanic folklore, this witches' meeting took place on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz mountains. (info from Wikipedia)
Well, we thought it wise to stay as far away from the Brocken as we could on the night of April 30..

..though apparently some witches didn't go either as flying on a broomstick can be quite difficult :)

Reed plaiting

This traditional barn in the country village of Gees has a thatched roof combined with reed plaiting. Though it has mainly a decorative function now, it was once done to save money; wood was very expensive and this way less wood was needed. The use of straw, plaited and put just underneath the roof where rain water didn't do much damage, seemed a good solution. And it didn't just look nice, it also ventilated the barn.
Nowadays reed is used, which is much stronger.

I'm linking to Tom's Barn Collective.

Swedish polkagrisar

On our way from Göteborg to Arboga we passed the village of Gränna on the eastern shores of lake Vättern, and stopped to have a look at the famous "Polkagrisar": Swedish candy sticks ('zuurstokken' in Dutch) that are so special that they attract a million visitors each year. Look how people stand in line in this shop!
The candy sticks were invented in 1859 by Amalia Eriksson, a poor 35-year-old widow. Amalia needed to support herself and her family when her husband died, and opened a bakery to make pastries and peppermint rocks. She kept the recipe of the polkagrisar secret and it was only revealed upon her death in 1923.

The traditional polkagris candy cane is white and red, and peppermint flavoured. Nowadays they come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours. The candy is made of sugar dough which is boiled, kneaded on a marble baking table, pulled, and twisted by hand to the right size. If you like 'sweet' this is your thing! :)

New Year's Eve

This is what we traditionally eat today: oliebollen!

'Oliebollen' are a variety of dumpling made by using an ice-scooper or 2 spoons to scoop a certain amount of dough and dropping the dough into a deep fryer filled with hot oil. In this way a sphere-shaped oliebol emerges. They are traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve and at funfairs. In wintertime, they are also sold in the streets at mobile stalls. Oliebollen are usually served with powdered sugar. (from Wikipedia)

I wish you all a wonderful New Year's Eve!

Mass path

During the Midwinter horn walk of last Sunday we passed the Ten Arloër kerkepad (Ten Arloër mass path), a very old pedestrian track leading from the hamlet Ten Arlo to the church and cemetery of Zuidwolde.  Farmers were not allowed to herd their cattle along this mass path as it had to be accessible at all time for 'four men carrying a fifth'...

Midwinter tradition

A still very much alive tradition in the eastern part of the Netherlands is called ´midwinterhoornblazen´ or ´blowing the midwinter horn´, that takes place during the period from Advent through Epiphany on January 6. More than 2,000 years ago people believed that the sound of the horns would scare off evil spirits that came in the darkness, but later it was used to announce the coming of Christ.
On this first Advent Sunday the midwinter horn group from the village of Zuidwolde organised a midwinter horn walk. Along the route of 11 km there were 15 different groups like the one on the photo.
It was wet, it was muddy, but a wonderful tradition to experience!

Midwinter horn stroll

This is a photo from last year´s ´Midwinter horn stroll´ in the area around the village of Zuidwolde. Midwinter horn blowing is an ancient tradition in the east part of our country, and is practiced during the period from the eve of Advent through Epiphany on January 6. The blowing of the horns was thought to rid the earth of evil spirits, and announce the coming of Christ.

Sinterklaas tradition

If you´re in the Netherlands at the moment, you won't be able to miss Sinterklaas and his 'Zwarte Pieten' assistents! Even though all the towns and cities are getting ready for Christmas with all kinds of decorations, the celebration of Sinterklaas and the giving of gifts on 5 December comes first.

We happened to "catch" Sinterklaas alone with one of his Zwarte Pieten preparing for a parade through the streets of Den Burg on the island of Texel, 2 weeks ago. They were slowly walking several rounds on the parking lot; apparently Sinterklaas had to get used to riding the white horse...  Earlier that day they arrived by boat in the small harbour of Oudeschild.
The three of them were happy to be photographed on this private moment, even the horse -called 'Amerigo' according to the tradition- seemed to look in the camera ;)

If you would like to read more about this tradition in our country click HERE.

The 'gaper'

Another image of a 'gaper', or 'someone who yawns', above the entrance of a (former) chemist. By seeing this head people knew where to go if they needed a medicine to cure a cold, etc. I have posted them before on this blog, they are a sign from the past and a tradition I like to see.

Photo taken in the city of Nijmegen.

roof top decoration

A typical kind of house found in the east of the Netherlands, where old buildings -like barns- are renovated and transformed into beautiful homes with a thatched roof.

Quite common as well are the roof top signs/decorations (called 'geveltoptekens' in Dutch). Sometimes it's an art expression, however they often refer to Christian symbolism. I'm not really sure about the origin of this one though..

Another name for the triangular part together with the roof top decoration is (in Dutch) 'uilenbord', lit. 'owl board'. The triangular part used to have a round opening for ventilation, and owls could fly in and out as well -helping to keep the barn free from mice.

(thanks s.c !)

banners

Following up on the previous posts these are 2 more photo's from last Sunday's Midwinter horn stroll, showing 2 banners in local dialect that say it all. First: 'Mooi da'j d'r bint' which means 'It's wonderful that you're here',

and near the end: 'Onmeunig mooi da'j der wann' means 'It was really great that you were here'.

Linking to signs, signs.

blowing the midwinter horn #2

Following up on yesterday's post: the hornblowers wait their turn, as it is 'not done' to blow simultaneously. The melody that is played depends on the ability of the blower, while the pitch depends on the horn that is used. 

A midwinter horn is not just 'a midwinter horn'. They can have different shapes and length, and can be made from differents types of wood like birch, alder, or willow. The mouth piece, like on the dark brown one, is called 'happe'.  

Most hornblowers were dressed for the occasion, and some even had a miniature midwinter horn on their hat, like this gentleman from a midwinter horn blower's group from Nieuw Schoonebeek.

If you would like to hear the sound of the midwinter horns, I found -THIS- on YouTube.

blowing the midwinter horn #1

The custom of 'midwinterhoorn blazen' (blowing the midwinter horn) during the period from the eve of Advent through Epiphany on January 6, is believed to have originated more than 2,000 years ago. The long horns produce a piercing wail that carries for miles over the countryside. Although in pagan times the blowing of the horns was thought to rid the earth of evil spirits, today they announce the coming of Christ.

The ancient tradition is still very much alive in the eastern part of the Netherlands, in a region called Twente. However there are more towns that honour the horn blowing. These pictures were taken near Zuidwolde, where a 10 km hike was organised. At several spots along the route men were blowing the midwinter horns.

It was very well organised, and a hot drink like coffee, tea or hot choco was included. For those who liked something stronger there was a kind of brandy, served in small glasses.

 The route was named 'Midwinterhoorn Kuiertocht' (Midwinter horn stroll). At each spot where the horns were blown on there was a banner like this one.

A few more photo's tomorrow..

Zwarte Pieten

'Zwarte Pieten' having fun on the roof of a building in the town centre, Saturday afternoon.

Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) is the companion of Sinterklaas (Saint Nicholas, aka the Good Holy Man), whose birthday is a traditional children's feast celebrated in the Netherlands on December 5. The tasks of the Zwarte Pieten are mostly to amuse the children and give them special Sinterklaas candy, like pepernoten: brown and small round shaped sort of gingerbread cookies. From the last week of November Sinterklaas visits schools, shopping centres etc. all over the country and gives away presents to the children, who welcome him upon arrival by singing Sinterklaas songs.

 

 

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PS. Yesterday's post was all about going up the stairs (!). Thanks everybody for your comments :)

Evzones

presidential guards named 'Evzones', in Athens, Greece

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presidentiele wachters genaamd 'Evzonen', in Athene, Griekenland

This month I will show you only photo's that were taken abroad; some from recent trips, others from a longer time ago. Let's see what I can find!

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Deze maand zal ik je alleen foto's laten zien die genomen zijn in het buitenland; zowel van recente vakanties als van langer geleden. Kijken wat het wordt!

Easter fire

Vooral langs de oostgrens van Nederland wordt of vandaag of morgen na zonsondergang een paasvuur aangestoken. Paasvuren zijn een oude traditie, ook in onze regio. Vroeger dacht men dat vuur en rook aan het begin van de lente voor vruchtbaarheid zouden zorgen.

Especially along the east border of the Netherlands Easter fires are lit today or tomorrow after sunset. Bonfires are an old tradition, also where we live. In the past people used to think that fire and smoke in the beginning of Spring would be good for fertility.

Met de strenge milieuwetgeving van tegenwoordig is toestemming van de locale autoriteiten absoluut noodzakelijk. Ook zijn er allerlei regels ten aanzien van de minimale afstand t.o.v. bebouwing. Dit jaar zijn vanwege de droogte trouwens veel paasvuren verboden.

Het wereldrecord van hoogste paasvuur is in handen van Espelo (gemeente Rijssen), waar in 2012 een paasvuur van 45,98 meter hoogte werd gebouwd. Het paasvuur op de foto staat in Onstwedde in de provincie Groningen.

With the current environment protection laws it is absolutely necessary to have permission from the local authorities. There also many rules regarding the minimum distance towards houses. Because of the drought however many bonfires are forbidden this year.

Since 2012 the small town of Espelo (in the municipality of Rijssen) holds the world record with an Easter fire that measured 45.98 meters high. The bonfire on the photo stands in Onstwedde in the province Groningen.