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Germans observe “Pfingsten,” or Pentecost, Sunday and Monday. The religious fest takes its name from the Greek word “pentekoste,” which means 50th.
Christians celebrate Pentecost the 50th day after Easter because they believe that’s when God sent down His Holy Spirit.
After receiving the Holy Spirit, the Apostles started spreading the new Gospel into the world. Because of this, the foundation of church is also celebrated.
In Old Testament times, the fest was celebrated as a harvest fest and in late Judaism, Pentecost commemorated the foundation of the Israelites in the Sinai, 50 days after the exodus from under the Egyptian oppression.
Pentecost Monday is considered an official holiday in Germany. Stores, banks and official institutions will be closed.
Some areas in Germany observe specific Pentecostal customs. In Bavaria, people dress in the national costumes of their region, walk in processions to church and pray for a good harvest. In Franconia, horsemen perform the annual Pentecostal ride. Led by priests, they carry church banners and crosses to church.
In the KMC, the towns of Schmalenberg and Schopp stick to some Pentecostal traditions. In Schmalenberg, boys and men cut branches from pines, birches and brooms and create three skirts, which the so-called “Quack” has to wear from his neck down during the parade through town. He also wears a hat made of thin rods. The Quack figure symbolizes spring. On Sunday afternoon, children go from house to house and collect flowers, which they tie to the hat as well. The men spend the night in a barn, watch the green costume and from time to time they walk through town singing the traditional “Quack” song. In Schmalenberg, the parade will take place at 10 a.m. Monday and in Schopp, the Pentecostal ride will take place at 6 a.m. Monday.
The biggest tradition is the historical auction of a billy goat in Deidesheim every Tuesday after Pentecost. According to a document from 1404, residents of Lambrecht, a neighboring town of Deidesheim, had the right to use the Deidesheim forests as pastureland, but people had to pay with a billy goat. The youngest citizen had to take the goat to Deidesheim and tie it to the town hall before sunrise the Tuesday after Pentecost. In the late afternoon, the billy goat was put up for auction to fill the town’s cash-box.
Today, it’s the most recently married couple’s job to deliver the goat. Together with the Mayor of Lambrecht and other officials, they will walk to the Deidesheim town hall where they will be met by city council members, school children and other groups in costume.
The auction takes place from 5:45 to 6 p.m., and the price paid for the goat will reflect the people’s economical situation. In good years, people paid up to €5,000 for the goat. Last year, The Royal Society Mannheim bought the goat for €4,000.
