How Christmastide Was Celebrated in East Prussia

Christmastide, in German "Die zwölf Weihnachtstage" (the twelve days of Christmas), or simply "Zwölften". In the East Prussian dialect - "Twelvte". It is the time between Christmas Eve and Epiphany Eve. In other words, the period from the night before Christmas to the night of Epiphany - from December 25 to January 6 according to the Gregorian calendar. Some Orthodox churches, including the Russian one, celebrate Christmastide from January 6 to 18.

Customs are an important part of the history of any nation; they have been and remain an important part of the life of every member of society. Customs affect every person and determine the forms of celebration that unite many people. Let us recall our customs that developed in Soviet times, for example, celebrating the New Year with champagne and making a wish to the sound of the Kremlin chimes. In different regions, customs may differ in some details, while remaining common to the entire society or a certain group of it.

 

 

Christmastide was characterized by various superstitions, mystical traditions and symbolic actions, a significant part of which undoubtedly came from pagan times. Almost everything that happened on those days and nights was shrouded in mystery and had a certain meaning.

Just a hundred years ago it was believed that in the period between Christmas and Epiphany there was a special, mysterious connection between the present and the future, so that assumptions about tomorrow could be made from the present. Although this belief is probably hundreds of years old…

The Church, of course, fought against such superstitions and tried to ban the celebration of Christmastide altogether, but the result of this fight was not the most impressive... The city authorities of the three Königsberg cities*, together with the clergy, issued decrees back in the 17th century prohibiting going from house to house during Christmastide, singing songs and begging for gifts, considering such an act "idolatry and blasphemy." But, apparently, few people paid attention to these prohibitions, since they were repeated with enviable regularity - in 1655, 1677 and 1685. In Wehlau (now Znamensk) in 1727, after a Christmas performance, called "buffoonery" by the city authorities, a ban was introduced on "playing Christ" under threat of corporal punishment.

 

In the past, the Christmas market was the center of the Christmas bustle in the cities. Naturally, young people loved to play pranks and misbehave. Scaring respectable burghers with strange and scary masks was especially popular. In 1705, the city council of Danzig (now Gdansk) posted a decree in Artushof**, which stated that all second-hand shops (and it was in them, apparently, that local miscreants dressed up "in scary clothes") should be closed at 7 o'clock in the evening on Christmas Eve and that any noise and mischief would result in a fine of 10 Reichsthaler for violators. In Elbing (now Elbląg) around 1820, on Christmas Eve, all the people who thought that celebrating it at home was boring flocked from the suburbs and surrounding villages to the Christmas market, there to have fun, have fun... and get drunk.

Members of the city's craft guilds and guilds did not lag behind the ordinary citizens. The beekeepers of Ortelsburg (now Szczytno) had a tradition of drinking large mugs of "Bärenfang"*** on Christmas Eve, and the shoemakers of Königsberg gathered every evening from Christmas to New Year's to drink and play dice together.

By the way, the famous "Long Sausage Festival", celebrated in Königsberg since the 16th century, fell on New Year's. And on Epiphany, January 6, the bakers organized a holiday for the townspeople.

 

The customs associated with Christmastide were not the same throughout East Prussia. There is a simple explanation for this: colonists from various German lands once came to the area east of the Vistula to populate the Prussian lands conquered by the Teutonic Knights. The customs and traditions brought by the settlers, layered and intertwined, cooked in a common cauldron with the local pagan customs of the Prussians, as a result began to differ from their "ancestors". Ultimately, the bearers and keepers of these formed traditions and customs were, rather, the population of the villages than the more enlightened city dwellers. And the villagers lived further from the strict authorities...

With their actions during Christmastide, Prussian peasants, so to speak, solved three important problems. Firstly, they tried to behave quietly and calmly, so as not to attract the attention of evil spirits - demons and devils - who, as it was believed, behave most furiously and viciously on the eve of the New Year. Secondly, it was necessary to try to drive away this same evil spirit, and it was desirable to do this before the New Year. Well, and thirdly, it was precisely during Christmastide that it was necessary to find out, with the help of various fortune-telling, what awaits each in the new year, having determined for themselves, based on the results of these fortune-telling, a plan of action for the entire coming year.

Of course, the last task was the most important and the most extensive, because nothing excites people more than anxiety about the future and, at the same time, does not instill hope in this future. Weather prediction also plays an important role here, since the well-being of the peasant and his family depended on the weather in the coming year. In addition, with the help of special signs, it was necessary to get answers to questions about health, and even about birth and death.

By behaving in a certain way on New Year's Eve (for example, by offering to the spirits or by bringing symbolically decorated pastries to the table), people hoped that they could at least slightly influence fate and make it more merciful. And, of course, everyone secretly hoped to find some personal happiness that they had been deprived of until now.

In both East and West Prussia, the villages of those times strictly adhered to the centuries-old custom of doing only the bare minimum of necessary chores. It was forbidden to wash clothes, much less hang them out. Even children's diapers were dried in the farthest corner of the attic. Because the "Wild Hunter" flew through the air on harsh Christmas nights. In the howling wind and whirlwinds of the snowstorm, common at that time of year, one could hear the clatter of horses' hooves, the cries and whistles of his retinue, and the howling of the pack of dogs accompanying them. It was believed that the wild army tried to gallop right through the laundry hung out in plain sight. Others believed that laundry hung out on Christmas Eve promised bad luck for the entire following year.

But the main thing was that nothing could be spun, otherwise – as it was believed – a wolf would attack the flock of sheep. It was forbidden to work on a weaving loom, and later on the sewing machine that replaced it, otherwise the cattle would get rabies.

A spinning wheel that was visible, much less a spinning wheel, was bound to incur the wrath of Mrs. Blizzard. Rotating motions, such as grinding coffee, were not allowed. Even potatoes had to be cut into wedges, not circles.

Peas were not cooked at this time. At least, the servants did not eat them, because otherwise they risked being beaten by their masters the following year. But in Catholic Ermland (now Warmia), on the contrary, they ate a dish of peas on Christmas, and in the morning they fed peas to cattle and poultry.

Threshing and baking bread were also prohibited during Christmastide. Silence and peace had to reign in the house, and the yard and stable had to be clean.

 

The Wild Hunter (Wilde Jäger) and Mrs. Snowstorm (Frau Holle) are characters from German folklore.

"The Wild Hunter" - the leader of the "wild army" or "wild hunt", with his retinue of ghosts, flew across the sky and was a harbinger of disasters, wars and other misfortunes. Anyone who saw him either died or joined his ranks.

"Frau Holle" is a character from the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm. It is believed that the plot of the fairy tale is based on the ancient beliefs of the Germans, who considered "Frau Holle" to be the patroness of spinning and weaving, and, at the same time, the mistress of the kingdom of the dead.

By fluffing up her feather bed, Mrs. Metelitsa causes snowfall. Among other things, Mrs. Metelitsa tests people by appearing in the form of an old and feeble woman, a beggar, asking for alms and shelter. Those who help her are rewarded, those who refuse are cruelly punished.

 

But the demons that were wreaking havoc during these days and nights had to be driven out. To do this, a lot of noise had to be made. And here a procession would appear, led by the "Pale Rider" (Schimmelreiter), cracking his whip. He was followed by a soldier, a beggar woman, a stork, a gypsy, a chimney sweep, and a dancing bear led by a guide.

 

 

 

The figure of the "Pale Horseman" in the East Prussian Christmas traditions is very interesting. On the one hand, this character can be seen as an allusion to one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse: "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and he that sat upon him was named Death: and Hades followed after him: and power was given unto him of the fourth part of the earth, to be killed with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." (Rev. 6:8).

On the other hand, it can be assumed that echoes of the horse cult among the pagan Prussians can be traced here: "the priests [of the Prussians] consider themselves entitled to attend the funerals of the dead... praise the dead... raising their eyes to heaven, they exclaim... that they see... a dead man flying through the sky on a horse, adorned with shining weapons." A white horse/horse in a jump is depicted on the legendary coat of arms of the Prussians, as well as on the coat of arms of Nordenburg.

At different times and in different parts of East Prussia, both the Pale Rider himself and his retinue differed significantly. In the 19th century, in Natangia and Oberland, the Pale Rider held a stick in his hands, and was accompanied by a goat and a hunchback. In some places, the set of characters in the Pale Rider's retinue consisted of a stork, a bear, and a beggar woman (Mrs. Blizzard). The characters of a soldier (gendarme), a gypsy (gypsy woman), a bear's guide, and a chimney sweep appeared later, probably because there were many people willing to take part in such a procession, and secondary characters were invented for them.

 

All participants in the procession were dressed in appropriate costumes, made from improvised means. This noisy cavalcade moved through the village from yard to yard, entering houses. With a whip or a stick, the Pale Rider could hit anyone who came to his hand, which he often used to settle scores with his fellow villagers. Parents often frightened their own children, saying that if they behaved badly, the Pale Rider would gallop up and give them a thrashing.

The Pale Rider and his retinue were only allowed to move around their village; according to legend, beyond its borders they faced terrible things, including death.

 

 

Along the road and in the houses, the procession demanded gifts and offerings from neighbors.
Here is how one eyewitness recalled the appearance of the Pale Rider:

 

"One evening, while we were baking cookies, we heard a sleigh bell ringing in the distance, accompanied by the cracking of a whip and the sounds of an accordion. The sisters were afraid and did not want to let the Pale Rider in, but they knew that whoever did not let him in would have a hard time for the next year.

There was a knock at the door, which was unlocked anyway. A white horse, a stork, and a bear came tumbling into the corridor, followed by the others. And a wild chase began. The pale horseman, galloping in his white shroud, held the reins hanging from a carved wooden horse's head on a long pole with one hand, and was ready to strike with his whip with the other. The bear, dressed in old skins and pea straw, crawled along the floor and grabbed our legs. The stork, completely covered in white cloth, pecked us in the face with his long, pointed beak, so hard that our mother had a bruise on her cheek for a long time afterwards. The chimney sweep stuck his hands into the stove and then slapped us in the face with them. How did we look then? Our faces were black and our hair was disheveled, but the reward was ready and we poured it into the beggar woman's basket: apples, cookies and candied nuts.

Then it all ended…

"As we moved down the ravine, the bell and the crack of the whip grew quieter. Washed and combed, we stood again at the hot stove, molded gingerbread figures and slid one huge baking tray after another into the oven. Then we saved the most beautiful figures: riders, deer, eagles and horse heads, beautifully painted with icing, so that we could decorate the tree with them on Christmas Eve."

 

There could be several such processions during Christmastide in one village. (In Natangia, by the way, there was a belief that if two Pale Riders met on a bridge, one of them would soon die). Their participants were a kind of established theatrical troupe, they prepared for this event in advance, making costumes that they used for many years. At the end of Christmastide, the costumes were put away in chests (while special spells were pronounced that no one should hear) until the next Christmas Eve.

 

 

As already mentioned, the noise and hubbub created by the Christmas mummers were supposed to scare away the demons. This cacophony reached its apogee before the New Year: boys and young men walked around the village and loudly cracked whips (there were no firecrackers or crackers back then), seeing off the old year and hoping that the exorcised demons would remain in it and not end up in the new year.

Another characteristic feature of the East Prussian Christmas was the humming pot (Brummtopf or Rummelpott). Three teenagers, playing the role of the three wise men, wearing masks or painted faces (one of them, playing the dark-skinned Balthazar, had his face smeared with black paint), wearing crowns or pointed cardboard hats on their heads, dressed in long white shirts belted with multi-colored belts, went from house to house and sang so-called "kitchen" songs (a unique genre of folk art that developed in the 19th century, representing plaintive and sentimental songs that housewives, maids and housekeepers loved to sing) to the accompaniment of a monotonously humming pot.

The "magi" began their concert with the following words:

 

"We will enter without any mockery!
Have a nice good evening, God grant us.
Have a nice good evening,
Have a fun time.
Which our Lord Christ has prepared!"

 

 

Christmastide fortune telling began on the first day of Christmastide, with Christmas. The twelve Christmastide days corresponded to the twelve months of the following year. Therefore, people carefully watched the weather on each of these twelve days. The first day of Christmastide corresponded to January, the second to February, and so on. Villagers wrote down all the weather events, and then throughout the year they checked their records and rejoiced when their predictions came true.

It was believed that the longest nights of the year symbolically reveal the joys and sorrows of the coming twelve months, and the weather of these twelve days seemed to provide information about the weather for the entire coming year. If there was a snowstorm at the beginning of Christmastide, that is, on Christmas, it meant a harsh January. If it rained on New Year's Eve, people said: "Well, August will be nice!" If the weather was fine on Christmas Eve, the following year should bring a bountiful grain harvest. If the sun shone on New Year's, one could expect a rich flax harvest. However, if it was windy, one could hope for a good fruit harvest. If it snowed on New Year's Eve, it was believed that the bees would swarm heavily. But if many stars were visible in the sky, this meant that the hens would lay eggs well.

If large snowflakes fell between Christmas and New Year, it was believed that mostly old people would die in the new year; if small snowflakes fell, it was feared that young people would die. When going to church on New Year's Eve, people paid attention to the shadows they cast in the light of a lantern or the moon: a person whose shadow had no head would die in the coming year. One death on New Year's Eve meant that twelve more people from the deceased's circle would die in the following year.

It was also believed that on New Year's morning one could see traces of deceased relatives warming themselves by the stove, if before that the stove in the house was well heated and a bench was placed next to it, sprinkling it with ashes.

The culmination of Christmastide, its middle, was the New Year.

The floors in the house were first swept clean and then sprinkled with sand so that the angels who came down from heaven on New Year's Eve could walk more comfortably. The whole family decorated the Christmas tree, which was brought from the forest, hanging handmade decorations or fruits on it. Store-bought Christmas tree decorations were rare then, they cost a lot and were not available to every villager.

In Königsberg and especially on the Samland Peninsula, children carried a Christmas tree decorated with gilded tinsel, bells and silver fish around their homes, singing songs, and adults treated them to sweets in return.

 

Without going into details, it is worth mentioning that the tradition of using a fir tree at Christmas has been around for about two and a half centuries. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the townspeople greeted him with palm branches (we now use willow branches for Easter). There are no plants associated with the birth of the Savior mentioned in the New Testament. It is believed that decorating a spruce (fir, pine and other conifers - they are the ones that stay green in winter; and the Celts, and then the Anglo-Saxons up until the mid-19th century, used mistletoe, also an evergreen, as a "tree") began in Germany at the end of the 18th century. But this tradition is based on another: dancing in a circle and singing songs around the "Maibaum", which, in turn, has its roots in paganism. The linden or birch tree was most often used as a May tree. But people also wanted to dance around the tree in winter. True, in winter all the leaves fall - and here is the result: people began to decorate the fir tree for Christmas. It is believed that in East Prussia the first to decorate the fir tree was Count Karl Ludwig Alexander zu Dohna-Schlodien on his estates Deutschendorf and Döbren near Preußisch Holland (now Pasłęk). Within 30 years, wealthy citizens and landowners were decorating fir trees practically throughout the entire province, and by the middle of the 19th century, every family had a fir tree in their home for Christmas.

 

A special form of Christmas tree was the so-called Wintarjeensboomke (winter tree) - a pyramidal composition of four apples with small spruce branches and four candles (or three apples standing on top of each other, held together with wooden sticks). It was used by those who did not have the means (or did not have the opportunity) to decorate a real tree.

Special cookies were baked during Christmastide.

 

"On December 27, the church blessed the "drink of John"**** and we added this wine to the dough from which we baked figures of different animals: chickens in a nest, cows and horses, and we baked a horse with a very long tail, which we then put in a cattle waterer so that nothing poisonous would get into it and so that the cattle would remain healthy. And we left all the baked goods in the oven overnight to dry. And on New Year's Eve, in the morning, we took the cows and horses to the stable and put the figures behind the manger, and then the chickens in the henhouse and distributed everything like that. We also went to the bees in the garden and glued pieces of dough to the hives. And to the trees too. This was supposed to bring good luck, so that they would multiply and remain healthy."

 

In some parts of East Prussia, people sewed cookie figures into their linings or carried them in their pockets until the following year.

In the area around Allenstein (now Olsztyn), people ate rye flour cookies in the shape of long ears of corn on New Year's Eve: the longer they lasted, the better the rye would be in the new year.

The people of East Prussia, both in the countryside and in the towns, were very fond of Christmas fortune telling. There were different ways to predict the future.

Various figures were cut out of sweet turnips: a horseshoe, a key, a coin, a skull, a ring, and others, they were placed under the inverted plates, then the plates were mixed and each of those present chose a plate for themselves and lifted it. Whatever was under it was supposed to happen in the new year. One plate was left empty. It was believed that whoever got it would not escape grief.

Unmarried young people liked to tell fortunes "with coals". Several small coals of different shapes were lowered into a large basin of water. The fortuneteller chose "his" coal. The remaining coals were given the names of girls (or young men, if it was a girl telling fortunes). The water was stirred and everyone sitting around looked excitedly at the coals: which of them would float to each other?

They collected a handful of pebbles from the stream. If there was an even number of them, then there would be a wedding in the new year. And if it’s odd, then you’ll have to wait at least another year.

You could knock on the fence with a stick. From the direction where the dog barked first, the betrothed would come.

…And so New Year’s Eve comes.

 

"Even in the evening, the estate manager threw the rope from the bell that rang before the start and end of work higher. But, as usual, it was useless. The teenagers rolled a cart up to the bell, climbed onto it, and reached the rope. The ringing of the bell and the cracking of whips at midnight announced the arrival of the new year to the entire village.

After a short time, everything died down and by one o'clock in the morning everyone was lying in their beds.

In the afternoon, the village would come alive again and the merriment would continue until dark. The "Christmas goat" would walk the streets, dressed like the stork from the Pale Rider procession, in white sheets and with a horned mask on his face. He would try to butt everyone he met with his horns. And people did not resist this and were ready to endure a rather painful blow to the chest with the horns, as they believed that this would bring them luck and prosperity in the coming year."

 

A "goat" or "billy goat" sometimes accompanied the Pale Rider's procession.

 

It is worth saying a few words about another entertaining character of the Christmas games in East Prussia - the "Christmas goat". The goat has been one of the most revered animals since ancient times (remember the goat-bearded god Pan of the ancient Greeks or his Roman counterpart Faun). The Germans also respected the goat, considering it a symbol of fertility. The Prussians considered the goat a sacrificial animal.

The Scandinavians were not far behind either the Germans or the Prussians. The Scandinavian Christmas goat "Julbock", who initially demanded gifts from his neighbors, eventually transformed into the well-known Finnish "Joulupukki" - Santa Claus. And he himself began to distribute gifts.

 

Above, Christmas baking, or more precisely, cookies - Pfefferkuchenfiguren (it is believed that the name "pepper figurines" comes from the fact that in the Middle Ages spices were called by the general word "pepper", but in fact, there is no pepper in the cookie recipe). It is clear that it is easy and simple to go to the store and buy ready-made sweets there. But, if suddenly someone wants to immerse themselves in the era, and bake Christmas figurines themselves, albeit in modern conditions (not in a wood-burning oven), then here is a recipe from those times:

 

flour - 350 g
cinnamon - 1 tsp
cardamom - 1 tsp
cloves - 0.5 tsp
honey - 350 g
sugar - 100 g
lard - 100 g (can be replaced with butter)
soda - 1 tsp
egg - 1 pc

For the glaze, mix 2 egg whites and 180 g of powdered sugar. The glaze should not spread. You can color it with food coloring in different colors (for example, with beetroot juice).

Mix all ingredients, knead a stiff dough. Let it rest for half an hour in the refrigerator. Roll out with a rolling pin to a thickness of 5 mm (the dough should not stick to the rolling pin). Using a sharp knife, cut out figures from the dough using templates. Bake in an oven preheated to 180 ° C for 15 minutes until light brown.

After the figures have cooled, apply patterns of icing to them using a pastry syringe and let it dry.

 

 

 

I would like to finish this short story about Christmas traditions in East Prussia with the following belief: if the night after Christmas is windy and snowy, then you can expect a peaceful year, without wars and conflicts...

So, let's wish for a storm tonight!

 

 

_____________________

 

 

* Until 1724, Königsberg consisted of three independent cities: Altstadt, Löbenicht and Kneiphof.

** Artushof - "Arthur's Court", the name of the buildings where wealthy merchants and patricians gathered in German cities. The name is associated with the legend of King Arthur. Artushofs were in Danzig, Elbing, Königsberg, Thorn.

*** Bärenfang - German Bärenfang (bear trap) - a strong alcoholic drink based on honey, very popular in East Prussia

**** John's drink - German Johannistrunk , wine, consecrated in churches on December 27, the day of St. John, and then distributed to parishioners. Parishioners also brought beer and even plain water to churches for consecration.

 

 

Sources:

Koltyrin S.A. Prussians: origin and relationships . — Historical format, No. 3, 2015.

Frischbier H. Preussisches Wörterbuch: East- and West-Preussische Provincialism in Alphabetical Folge. 2 Bde. — Berlin, 1882-1883.

Hartmann E. Ostpreußische Weihnacht. — Ostpreußen-Warte, Vol. 12, December 1955.

Lölhöffel-Tharau of  H.  from the festival  in  East Germany . — Hamburg, 1987.

Riemann E. Old Weihnachtsbräuche in East Preußen . — With Ostpreussen, Folge 22, December 20, 1949.

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