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March is the month to say goodbye to winter and hello to spring. In the Pfalz area, several towns and villages observe various traditions to do just that.
One tradition is to “burn winter,” and another one is to have summer day parades and perform summer day plays.
The most popular and biggest summer day parade and play always takes place the third Sunday before Easter in Forst along the German Wine Street. Forst residents perform a play called “Hanselfingerhut Fest.” The first performance takes place at 2 p.m. Sunday near the northern exit of the village and the last performance is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in front of Felix-Christoph-Traberger-Halle.
Historical documentation of the play dates back to 1721. The dramatic play migrated from Southern Germany and Switzerland. It has a deep meaning but is also spiced with humor and originality. The story is based on the old Teutonic idea of a fight between summer and winter.
The play consists of four scenes and six characters with the village streets as the stage. The first scene shows the fight between winter and summer. Both performers are placed in little cone-shaped houses made of laths and sticks.
The winter house is covered with straw and has a straw cross on top. The summer house is covered with ivy and decorated with a blue and white flag on its top. Both houses have a small hole to peek through. The two competitors are armed with sabers made of wood and walk down the street with the house over their heads.
They talk about their good qualities before they finally start fighting. Summer wins.
In the second scene, an officer cadet (ensign), who looks like a mercenary in former times, judicially resolves the fight between winter and summer.
In the third scene, the main character of the play, “Hanselfingerhut,” appears. His dress is shabby and his face is smeared with oil and soot. He represents a tramp who lost all his belongings, but still is in the mood for playing tricks on others and teasing young and good-looking girls. While singing he swings between the summer and the winter house, which are about five meters away from each other. He finally is looking for a girl from the audience to press a black brand (kiss) onto her face.
The fourth and final scene demonstrates how Hanselfingerhut is exhausted and how the barber tries to cure him with a bloodletting on his toe. But he faints and the officer cadet tickles him with his sword. Hanselfingerhut wakes up again and eats fresh pretzels to recover. All performers keep walking through the streets and
re-perform the play twice before the burning of winter on the Festplatz.
Traditionally, the fest starts in the morning after worship service. Children receive special “Brötchen,” or bread. This tradition dates back to 1600 when the emperor’s court reader, Felix Christoph Traberger, made a donation. In a certificate from Sept. 8, 1600, Traberger mentions the good neighborly intents of the mayor and the whole community, which made him donate 40 guilders (former currency) with a 2 guilder interest.
The court reader decided that each year on mid-Lent Sunday, Brötchen for 2 guilders must be bought and given to local children. To thank the donor, a prayer must be said for him.
Forst is a little village with about 700 residents located between Bad Dürkheim and Deidesheim. It has many vineyards and is well known for its wine. The village is dominated by typical framework houses and sandstone buildings covered with ivy and vines. The main street, paved with stones, is part of the German Wine Street.
To “burn winter” means to put up piles of wood and straw, light them and wait for them to burn down. The tradition goes back to pagan times, when fires were lit to banish ghosts and demons so spring was able to come.
In Neuleiningen (near Wattenheim, A6), the burning of winter starts with a parade winding through the village at 2 p.m. Sunday. Children will sing spring songs, a band will perform, and visitors can enjoy pretzels on a stick decorated with ribbons.
In Frankenstein, a summer day fest with Easter market takes place from noon to 6 p.m. in the school yard and Bürgerhaus.
Another goodbye winter celebration takes place at 2 p.m. in Grünstadt. A parade with the local wine duchess will wind through the center of town to the fire station, where winter will finally be burned. Stores will be open from 1 to 6 p.m. The town will also offer a March market today through Monday with rides, activity stands, food booths and vendors.
The Hanselfingerhut play also gets performed in Landau, where it has taken place since 1923. Children on decorated bikes with handcrafted sticks will meet at 1 p.m. on Rathausplatz. Accompanied by several music groups and led by a decorated wagon, they will go through the center of town singing goodbye winter songs. Back at the Rathausplatz around 3 p.m., visitors can watch the Hanselfingerhut play and burning of winter activities.
