Happy
Labor Day!
Or Happy May Day!
Or happy whatever other holiday you celebrate on May 1! (according to this link, May 1 is very popular as a holiday worldwide)
Or Happy May Day!
Or happy whatever other holiday you celebrate on May 1! (according to this link, May 1 is very popular as a holiday worldwide)
2017
seems to be the year to catch up with German traditions I've missed. Back in
January, it was molybdomancy. Yesterday, I watched a Maibaum (maypole) being erected.
The
maypole is put up on the last day of April (or on May 1, depending on the
region) and is a symbol of the beginning of spring. There are a lot of stories
as to the origin of the maypole tradition. Most cite Germanic rites and forest
gods.
So
yesterday I watched one being erected for the first time. It was a big deal in
my in-laws village. About thirty men were needed to erect it. It was hard work—my
husband ended up with scraped and bleeding hands. I also learned that erecting
the Maibaum is a guys-only thing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyway, all
total probably 100 people attended. Not bad for a village of 280 people. Besides
the fun of watching the maypole, you could buy beer, soft drinks and bratwurst.
As
for the maypole itself, different areas in Germany use different types of trees,
often birch or spruce. Some strip the trunk and decorate it, and some leave the
tree as it is naturally. Other areas of Bavaria tend to decorate in blue and
white, whereas we in Franconia use red and white.
![]() |
With each additional group, the maypole is pushed higher. Here, the third group has joined with their Schwalben. |
I've
been told that the size of the tree doesn't matter, but when we drove through a
neighboring village and saw how short their maypole was, we may have chuckled
and called it a Bonsai Maibaum. ;-)
How
can you make a maypole even more fun? By stealing it! Seriously, stealing the
maypole is a popular tradition, so often a few guys camp out next to the tree
to guard it. If someone does manage to get away with it, they demand ransom–usually
beer and food—before they'll give it back. And no, I have no idea how you'd
steal something that big.
The
funniest examples I heard of stealing a maypole were:
- the
people who used a helicopter to steal one from the Zugspitze mountain.
There
are a lot of different maypole traditions around Germany. If you know of any
(also from other countries!), I'd love to read them in the comments!
all pictures by me
all pictures by me