Saturday, June 8, 2013

Easter in Vor Pommern

Easter celebrations were started with "Gruendonnerstag" on Holy Thursday when the people would eat something green. The old farmers put fresh eggs in the attic for good luck and good health for all those that lived in the house. Good Friday was called "Stillfreitag" when everything was to be quiet and calm, even in church, the organ was not played.

On Palm Sunday the families would gather willow branches and put them in a warm place in the house to make them green calling them "Osterstiepen." The church bells would ring and after that the young boys would collect wood for the "Osterfeuer" - Easter fire. The wood was placed on a hill and set ablaze. Everyone wanted the biggest "Osterfeuer." The charcoal was taken home where many believed it had some salutary force.

On Easter Sunday, the farmhand did not work. The estate owners did not want conflict with the church. On Easter morning the children would wake their parents with a light stroke they called "Stueben." They said a rhyme asking that their parents would give them "Eier Kuchen, or Groschen" (eggs, cake, or a dime). The children would then proceed to visit godparents and other family members with the same procedure.

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