Germans observe Pentecost

On Sunday and Monday, Germans will observe “Pfingsten,” or Pentecost. Pfingsten is a religious fest and Monday, called Pentecost Monday, is an official holiday in Germany. Stores, banks and official institutions will be closed.

Pentecost comes from the Greek word “pentekoste,” which means 50th. Christians celebrate Pentecost, also called Whitsun, 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. That’s why the fest is also to celebrate the foundation of church.In Old Testament times, the fest had a character of a harvest fest and in late Judaism, Pentecost was the day to commemorate the foundation of the Israelites in the Sinai, 50 days after the exodus from under the Egyptian oppression.

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, a region composed of the northern portion of Bavaria, a small southern portion of Thuringia and a portion in the northeastern part of Baden-Württemberg, horsemen perform the annual Pentecostal ride. Led by priests, they carry church banners and crosses to church.

In the KMC, the towns of Schmalenberg, Schopp, Matzenbach and Gimsbach stick to some Pentecostal traditions. In Schmalenberg, the 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. On Sunday afternoon, children go from house to house to collect flowers that are then tightened to the hat as well. The men spend the night in a barn, watch the green costume and, from time to time, go through town singing the traditional “Quack” song. At 10 a.m. Monday, the parade with the “Quack” in his costume and children carrying colored Pentecost rods will proceed through Schmalenberg led by a colorful decorated horse. The children will sell the collected flowers after the parade and go in houses to ask people for eggs, bacon and money. A village fest will follow the ride.

In Matzenbach and Gimsbach, children will walk through the village Sunday afternoon with a wagon decorated with flowers and brooms. They will stop in front of each house reciting a poem in which they request a monetary donation, eggs or bacon.

In Schopp, the Pentecostal bicycle race will start at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Eichwald Stadium.

The biggest traditional Pentecost event in the vicinity is the historical auction of a billy goat in Deidesheim every Tuesday after Pentecost. This event will take place for the 608th time. According to a document from 1404 by King Ruprecht, residents of Lambrecht, which is a neighboring town of Deidesheim, had the right to use the Deidesheim forests as pastureland.

Contracts between the former monastery of Lambrecht and the town of Deidesheim mention that people in Lambrecht had to pay with a good-looking billy goat for the use of the forests. The youngest citizen of Lambrecht had to take the billy goat to Deidesheim and tie it to the town hall before sunrise the Tuesday after Pentecost. He then received a bottle of wine and a cheese sandwich. In the late afternoon, the billy goat was put up for auction to fill the town’s cash box.

Today, it’s up to the most recently married couple to deliver the billy goat. Together with the mayor of Lambrecht and other officials, the couple will walk to the Deidesheim town hall. This year, no newlywed couple volunteered to do it, so a couple that did it 50 years ago (also having recently celebrated their 50th anniversary) will do it again this year. According to new regulations, they don’t have to arrive before 10 a.m. Tuesday. Here, the Deidesheim city council, school children and groups in national costumes will greet the Lambrecht group.

A fest with music, folks group dancing, drinking and eating starts in the afternoon. The traditional auction will take place from 5:45 to 6 p.m. The prices paid for the billy goat reflect the people’s economical situation. Last year, Deidesheim’s sister city Buochs, in Switzerland, paid €6,100 for the goat. Deidesheim is located on the German Wine Street between Bad Dürkheim and Neustadt.

Trash pickup changes in KMC:
The trash pick up in some villages in the KMC will change as follows due to the Pentecost holidays, which Germans observe Sunday and Monday:
• From Monday to Tuesday for non-recyclable waste and yellow bags in Landstuhl-Atzel, Landstuhl-Melkerei, Oberarnbach, Mittelbrunn and Bann; and for biodegradable waste and paper in Ramstein, Weltersbach, Schrollbach, Kirchmohr, Obermohr, Steinwenden and Miesenbach.
• From Tuesday to Wednesday for biodegradable waste in Mackenbach, Rodenbach, Schwedelbach, Weilerbach, Erzenhausen and Pörrbach.
• From Wednesday to Thursday for paper in Frankensten, Waldleiningen,Trippstadt, Langensohl and Stelzenberg.
• From Thursday to June 17 for paper in Eulenbis, Olsbrücken, Frankelbach, Hirschhorn, Sulzbachtal and Katzweiler.
• From June 17 to June 18 for paper in Otterberg and Drehenthalerhof.
Villages not mentioned here have their trash picked up on regularly scheduled days.
(Courtesy of Kaiserslautern County Administration office)