franconian wine festivals

7/30/2019 Franconian Wine Festivals

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Franconian Wine Festivals

Time to Wine and Dine

Of course, wine tastesdeliciously all year round andyet autumn is the time weassociate still more withenjoying a glass of this red-or golden-coloured liquid.Now is the time to celebrateanother successful harvestand to partake of a glass or two at one of the numerous wine festivals that are held inmany Franconian villages and towns. Choose from amongst the tempting Franconianculinary treats to accompany your drink. The Franconian Wine Festival Calender(Information in German only) shows you the way.

Basler Fasnacht and Ernst Beyeler Swiss cultural icons that matter

Basler icons made happy and sad headlines in Switzerland last week. Happy was the

100th anniversary of the Basel Fasnacht as an officially organized event

(althoughdisorganized Basel carnivals date back to the 16th century!). Sad was the death

of one of the most significant art dealers of the 20th century, Ernst Beyeler (1921-2010).

I finally attended my first Fasnacht in 2008, when I had the daunting pleasure of joining

my cousins clique, Verschubblete, for the 4 am Morgenstreich. It kicks off with a

shutdown of city lights. Then, thousands of squeeky piccolos and rapping drums rend thefrosty pre-dawn air as hundreds of huge lanterns start rolling through the crowded streets.

Clique members follow in colorful oversized masks and costumes that hide bulky winter

underclothes, fortifying themselves with periodic stops for brown flour soup, onion tarts,

carroway pretzels, and Basler beer.

Fasnacht is

actually a

huge political

protest in ajovial

carnival

atmosphere.

Each clique

picks on its

favorite
http://www.fraenkischer-weinfestkalender.de/termine/http://http//www.fasnachts-comite.ch/english/geschichte.htmlhttp://http//www.fasnachts-comite.ch/english/geschichte.htmlhttp://www.fraenkischer-weinfestkalender.de/termine/


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peeve and satirizes it. The watching hoards have never been counted but, according to

Fasnacht Comite President Felix Rudolf von Rohr, theyre responsible for a Fasnacht

week expenditure of CHF 30 million and a CHF 1 million clean up afterwards!

Ernst Beyelers

laudable life endedthe same day as

this years

Fasnacht. He made

his start in 1945

with a Basel art

and antiquarian

bookshop,

converting it into

an art gallery with

a growing trade inworks by important

20th century

modernists. But his

really big breaks

came in the late

1950s, with the

purchase of

hundreds of works

from the estate of

Pittsburg collector David Thompson, and in 1966 when he left Picassos Mougins studio

with 26 works.

Beyeler was responsible for enriching the collections of both public and private Swiss

museums, and he also helped found the annual Basel Art fair, one of the worlds biggest

draws for contemporary art. In 1982 he created the Beyeler foundation with his wife

Hildy, and in 1997 they opened thefoundations museum with the support of the Basel

government.

Beyelers collection was valued last year at CHF 2 billion. But its trademark,

Giacomettis Walking Man II, may not be accurately reflected in that figure. Walking

Man I, reputedly the only life-time cast of six that is in private hands,sold last month for$104 million.

Coincidentally, my father would have celebrated his 90th birthday last week. He was a

devout Fasnachter, first as a clique piccolo player, then as an Ausland Schweizer (Swiss

abroad) coming back to see who was being poked fun at. But last year, shortly before we

marched in costume down Basels lantern-lit streets, we tipped his ashes into the Rhine

for one last swim down the playground of his youth.
http://genevalunch.com/blog/2010/02/24/satire-alive-and-well-at-basels-fasnacht/http://genevalunch.com/blog/2010/02/24/satire-alive-and-well-at-basels-fasnacht/http://http//http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124107622http://http//http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124107622http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124107622http://www.beyeler.com/fondation/e/html_01start/01_sta__main.phphttp://http//finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108752/giacometti-sculpture-becomes-most-expensive-work-ever-to-sell-at-auctionhttp://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108752/giacometti-sculpture-becomes-most-expensive-work-ever-to-sell-at-auctionhttp://genevalunch.com/blog/2010/02/24/satire-alive-and-well-at-basels-fasnacht/http://genevalunch.com/blog/2010/02/24/satire-alive-and-well-at-basels-fasnacht/http://http//http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124107622http://http//http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124107622http://http//http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124107622http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124107622http://www.beyeler.com/fondation/e/html_01start/01_sta__main.phphttp://http//finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108752/giacometti-sculpture-becomes-most-expensive-work-ever-to-sell-at-auctionhttp://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/108752/giacometti-sculpture-becomes-most-expensive-work-ever-to-sell-at-auction


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Tuesday, December 11, 2012

PerchtaPerchta, Berchta, or Bertha is a rare female Santa equivalent. She serves as a year roundguardian of the beasts and leader of the wild hunt. During the Twelve Days of Christmas,

between Christmas and Epiphany, she oversees spinning and weaving.

She may appear either pale and beautiful and dressed all in white or elderly and haggard.No matter what her form, she always has one large foot that she can't get rid of.Sometimes it's a goose or swan foot. It may be that foot that works the treadle of thespinning wheel.

Perchta has her own feast day during which you're supposed to eat fish and gruel. If youforget her feast or eat the wrong things she will slit you open that night and stuff you withstraw. Alas, I can't find when her feast is other than some time during the twelve days ofChristmas.

Also during those twelve days she enters homes at night to judge the children and youngservants. Those who work hard and behave might find a small silver coin in a pail or theirshoe. Those who did not would be slit open, their stomach and guts removed, and strawand pebbles placed there instead. Of particular concern was whether the girls has spuntheir quota of flax or wool that year.

Perchta controls strange beasts known collectively as perchten. The perchten are longhorned, hairy, demonic bipeds. Some people would dress up as evil spirits to drive theperchten away.Posted by Ibid at 9:06 AMNo comments:Post a Comment

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Merry Krampusnacht!Posted on December 5, 2011

Krampus

Back in the olden days, when people regrettably didnt have

television, internet, or Facebook to occupy their time, there was

no greater fun than scaring the shit out of little children. And what

better way to bring on those delicious little-kid tears than by

celebratingKrampusnacht!
http://zombies4breakfast.com/2011/12/05/merry-krampusnacht/http://zombies4breakfast.com/2011/12/05/merry-krampusnacht/


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Wait, WTF is Krampusnacht?

Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night, is a very very old holiday celebrated in Alpine

countries (such as Germany, France, and Austria) during the first week of December, but

particularly on December 5th and 6th. Supposedly a terrifying, horned demon-creature

called Krampus accompanies St. Nicolas during his Christmas season travels.

Ho Ho...Holy Krampus!

While St. Nicolas gets to wear awesome

red robes and give out presents to well-

behaved children and generally act like the

good guy, Krampus has the delightful taskof punishing the bad children by doing one

or more of the following things:

Scaring the shit out of them with rusty chains and bells

Stuffing them into barrels

Throwing them in a big black sack

Beating their butts with a birch switch

According to historical documents, Krampus was a total dick

Damn. All of that sounds equally terrifying to me. What happened to just giving them a

lump of coal?


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Krampusnacht is an extraordinarily old holiday and it may even pre-date Christianity as a

pagan celebration. In fact, in places like Austria and Bavaria on December 5th and 6th,

the men get wasted and dress up as Krampus and go around terrorizing children

Frau Perchta

(sounds like a good time) and the

women wear masks depicting Frau

Perchta, a Germanic pagan goddess.

Perchta means the bright one and Frau Perchta is considered a variant of the

Germanic/Norse goddess Frigg or Freja. She is often depicted as a female spirit in a white

robe and, like Krampus, she is said to wander the countryside during the wintertime, mostspecifically during the time before Christmas, and especially on December 12th, Twelfth

Night.

Also like Krampus, Frau Perchta knew if children of the household had been good or bad

during the year. The good kids would receive a small silver coin in their shoe. For the

bad kids, Frau Perchta would slit open their stomachs,

Good and Bad

Perchta Mask

pull out their innards,

and replace them

with stones and

straw. (Sleep tight,

kids!)

The masks of Frau Perchta have two different styles:Schnperchten, which means

Beautiful Perchten andSchiachperchten, which means Ugly Perchten. The beautiful

mask is supposed to grant people good fortune and wealth, while the ugly mask was used

to drive out demons and ghosts. It might also have made the wearer constipated, but thats

just my interpretation.


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Who knows why such a cool ass holiday as Krampusnacht never caught on in the States?

After all, we love making children cry ALMOST as much as Europeans do

Pictured: Wholesome

Family Fun

Either which way,

grab your mask, a

black sack, and a nice

flask full of absinthe

(the favored drink of

this holiday) and have yourself a merry little Krampusnacht. Your kids will thank you

when theyre older. :)

Share the love:

Facebook28

TwitterFEAR THE AUSTRIAN PERCHTEN:PAGAN TRADITIONS IN THE ALPS, PART II

Perchten traditions involving ugly wooden masks ("Schiachperchten") are mosttraditionally performed in the Raunchte ("Smoke Nights") in the South of the Salzburg

province and Western parts of Tyrol. Gastein, Altenmarkt, St Johann and Rauris areparticularly famous for their strictly traditional performances, whereas other regionsallow more modern mask styles and alterations of the dances.

The wooden, painted masks resembling devils are usually equipped with several horns,tusks and teeth to pierce the souls of haunted people. In some valleys, they have no ears -so that they dont hear the screams and lamenting of their victims. They are covered withfur and wear large bells around their hips. They also carry dried horse or cow tails whichthey use as whips (they hurt, let me tell you). Masks can weigh up to 30 kilograms andsometimes resemble stereotypical animals, such as eagles, bears or wolves.

Centres: Salzburg, Tyrol & Salzkammergut

A more charming variation of the custom are the "Schnperchten" or "Pretty Perchta",that are meant to awake spring and deliver happiness and luck for the new year. Theycome in all sorts of variations, and are again most common in the mountainous regions ofSalzburg and the Salzkammergut. The best-known types of Schnperchten are theTresterer from the Pinzgau, the Schnabelperchten ("Beak Perchta") from Rauris, theanimal-like Wilde Jagd ("Wild Chase") from the Untersberg region and the famous
http://zombies4breakfast.com/2011/12/05/merry-krampusnacht/?share=facebook&nb=1http://zombies4breakfast.com/2011/12/05/merry-krampusnacht/?share=facebook&nb=1http://zombies4breakfast.com/2011/12/05/merry-krampusnacht/?share=facebook&nb=1http://zombies4breakfast.com/2011/12/05/merry-krampusnacht/?share=twitter&nb=1http://zombies4breakfast.com/2011/12/05/merry-krampusnacht/?share=facebook&nb=1http://zombies4breakfast.com/2011/12/05/merry-krampusnacht/?share=twitter&nb=1


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Glckler from the Ausseerland near Hallstatt in the Salzkammergut.

Depending on the region, they come in male and/or female versions, are usually wearingwhite with flower ornaments, small pieces of mirrors and little bells; some are ratherscary creatures with masks symbolising animals or archetypes (such as Death or Frau

Perchta). They often perform dances and go from house to house to deliver blessings andluck. Dances often involve the joint stomping on the ground to awake spring and theseeds in the soil.

Krampus customs & Dates to consider

A pre-Christmas tradition in Austria is St Nicolas walking from house to house handingout small gifts on the 6th of December. The traditions of the Perchten was implementedinto this custom through the "Krampus", which is a different thing to a Perchta:"Krampus" is derived from an old Germanic term for claw and it is an evil spiritcontrolled by St Nicolas. Unlike Perchten, it is not meant to protect of the evil - and it has

a tongue unlike traditional Perchten masks. With modern designs of the masks and thetradition turning into commercialised folklore, it is hard to tell a difference betweenKrampus and Perchten these days.

These days, Perchten ceremonies are organised in the sake of tourism outside of Alpineareas, too. Most of the big ones take place in the Salzburg province. For Schnperchtenperformances, watch out for events in the Ausseerland in the Styrian part of theSalzkammergut. For the most traditional events, you have to go to the Alpine regions ofSouthern Salzburg during the four Raunchte Nights: Thomas Night (21st of December,winter solstice); Christ Night (24th of December, Christmas Eve three days later); thenight preceding Silvesters Day (30th of December); and the night before Epiphany (5thof January).

Return to "Perchten - Part I"

10 Crazy Christmas Traditions30 November, 2011therundownNews. Views. Issues

So much for the lucky country.

I am watching a man endure the cruelest misfortune.

Poor bloke has been bombarded by hundreds of pre-schoolers. Screaming, hollering.

They all want a piece of the man in the heavy red suit.

Did I mention its approaching midday? On what feels like the hottest day in a decade.

And hes outside, under the baking Australian sun. Not a tree within cooee.

This was just one daycare centre Christmas party. Scenes like this must surely be repeated
http://therundown.com.au/?p=372http://therundown.com.au/?p=372http://therundown.com.au/?author=1http://therundown.com.au/?author=1http://therundown.com.au/?cat=1http://therundown.com.au/?p=372http://therundown.com.au/?p=372http://therundown.com.au/?author=1http://therundown.com.au/?cat=1


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in thousands of parks across the country.

And on December 25, in stifling heat, thousands more people will slave over a hot oven

to create a traditional Christmas lunch.

Weve got our fair share of crazy Christmas traditions in this country. But dreaming of aWhite Christmas in the driest continent on earth seems remarkably sane compared to

some.

10. The log that poos

Spain, as youll read later,

has a strange obsession

with Christmas poo. In

this case, its the Tio deNadal a log that poos out

Christmas treats. Children

care for it from 8

December, feeding it

vegetables and covering it

in a blanket to keep it warm. Then they beat the hell out of Tio de Nadal with a stick,

singing this song: Christmas log, do not poop salted sardines, which are salty, poop

torrons (a type of lolly) which are very good, and if you dont poop well, I will hit you

with a stick.

9. La Befana

Perhaps Santas just not

quite religious enough this

close to the headquarters

of the Catholic Church. So

children instead wait for a

witch to deliver them

presents. La Befana

sweeps in on her broom on

5 January. But if youve

been bad, youll only get a

lump of coal. Sound

familiar?


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8. Hide the brooms

Sadly, thieves dont take Christmas holidays. In Norway, they take brooms. On Christmas

Eve. While the rest of the world is downing egg nog and singing carols, Norwegian

families are desperately hiding all their brooms, just in case they get stolen by demons.

You could really get swept away with that kind of fun.

7. Krampus & Perchta

In Austria, Santa doesnt

waste time making a list

and checking it twice.

Instead, he hangs out with

demons. Theres nothing

so simple as a lump of

coal for naughty children.

Saint Nick gets his mates

Krampus and Perchta to

deal with them. Krampus,

Austrian kids are told, will

send them to hell if theyve been bad. Perchta simply cuts them open, removes their guts

then stuffs the hole with pebbles and straw. Im beginning to understand why those kidsin the Sound of Music were so well behaved.

6. Still single?

Looking for the perfect man? Christmas Eve in the Czech Republic tells women if theyll

meet Mr Right in the next 12 months. Or Mr Left, for that matter. All you have to do is

stand outside your front door and toss a shoe over your shoulder. If the toes pointing

back at the door youll be married within a year. Or, they can put a cherry twig in water

on 4 December. If it flowers by Christmas Eve, its wedding bells. Another sure fire way

of predicting a white wedding, is to shake an elder tree. If a dog barks at the same time,

start planning your honeymoon.

5. Tree spider

From webs of love to webs of


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luck. Ukrainian Christmas trees always have one special decoration. While we tend to

stick with a star or an angel, they prefer a spiders web. Tradition has it a mother was so

poor, she couldnt afford decorations for the tree. When she woke on Christmas morning,

spiders had weaved their magic for her.

4. In a pickle

In Germany, its rumoured the last decoration to go on the tree is a gherkin. And the first

child to find the morsel on Christmas morning gets an extra present. But perhaps the most

bizarre part of this tradition is that its largely unheard of in Germany. But somewhere,

someones making a killing out of glass gherkins.

3. Catalonias Caganer

Those crazy Catalans. They

love their religious festivals.

And they do nativity scenes,

with a difference. Apparently,

while the Virgin Mary was

bringing the son of God into

the world to save all mankind,

there was a peasant giving birth to something far less holy. This poor soul with the dodgy

bowels is hidden somewhere within the nativity scene. Apparently a game of Spot the

Caganer can also pass as a game of Spot the Celebrity. Theres a website devoted to

selling Caganers in pretty much anyones likeness. Yes we can!

2. Kiviak

Very few people get to

experience Christmas

Greenland style. Thatsprobably not a bad thing,

considering lunch is likely

to be Auk (a seabird) thats

been wrapped in seal skin

and buried for around 7 months. Apparently it tastes like matured cheese.
http://www.caganer.com/http://www.caganer.com/


11/13

1. Kentucky Fried Christmas

If youre in Japan,

Christmas lunch is mostlikely a bird that tastes

like chicken, rather than

cheese. Thats because it

is chicken. KFC. The fast

food giant has marketed

itself so successfully over many years, that some Japanese families now place their orders

for Christmas lunch months in advance. KFC must be licking their fingers all the way to

the bank.

More Christmas fun next week at www.therundown.com.au

Also Read: 10 Tackiest Chistmas Novelties

Information and picture sources for this weeks blog: Ripleys.com, cracked.com,

unitedplanet.org, wikipedia.com, myczechrepublic.com, wildjunket.com,

annmorash.blogspot.com

One commentbefana,Caganer,Christmas, Crazy, Japan, kfc,kiviac,Krampus,Perchta, tio de nadal, traditionsCostume gang

Wednesday, 5th March, 2008 8:33 pm
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Text from the book:

Masked figures from the Wilde Jagd Christmas folklore festivity in Salzburg, Austria.

These festivities originate through the Perchtenlaufen custom, a period when the

fearsome witch Perchta, who envies happily married couples, roams the villages.

Processions of horribly masked figures armed with sticks and clubs meet throughout the


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festivity to chase the witch away.

25th April 2010 Edit This picture is from Masks, Face Coverings and headgear by

Norman Lalibert and Alex Mogelon

Tagscostume,festival, mask,perchta,witch |Permalink| Comment (0)
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