Practice German with excerpts from "The Lucerne Carnival:
Pagan and Christian Tradition" in German, followed by the
English translation.
Auf deutsch:
Luzerner Fasnacht
Seit jeher sind die Luzerner ein festfreudiges Volk.
Besonders hoch zu und her geht es jeweils an der Fasnacht,
vor Anbruch der Fastenzeit an der Wende vom Winter zum
Frühling. In der Luzerner Fasnacht mischen sich, wie
überhaupt bei manchen Volksbräuchen, heidnische und
christliche Überlieferungen. Eine zentrale Rolle in Luzern
spielt die Figur des Fritschi.
Woher dieser Fritschi- auch Bruder Fridolin genannt-
eigentlich kommt, weiß man nicht mit Sicherheit.
Möglicherweise handelt es sich ursprünglich um einen
Frühlings- und Fruchtbarkeitsgott. Alte Darstellungen
zeigen ihn als kraftstrotzenden Mann, während man ihn
heute in der Maske eines Greises, begleitet von seiner
nicht minder betagten Frau, auf dem traditionellen Umzug
durch die Altstadt führt. Als Symbol der Fruchtbarkeit
dient nunmehr das Fritschikind, eine Puppe, von einem
hübschen Trachtenmädchen im Fasnachtsumzug mitgetragen.
Dieser Fritschiumzug am Schmutzigen Donnerstag führt
jeweils dreimal um den Fritschibrunnen auf dem Kapellplatz
herum. Nach volkstümlicher Überlieferung soll nämlich der
populäre Fritschi hier begraben liegen. Diese Mär geht auf
eine Behauptung des Luzerner Stadtschreibers Renwart Cysat
zurück, der wissen wollte, Fritschi habe tatsächlich
gelebt und sei im Jahre 1480 verstorben.
Wie dem auch sei, Fasnacht ist die schaurigschöne Zeit der
Einheimischen: Karneval. Ganze Haufen von Musikanten in
phantasievollen oder zerlumpten Kostümen ziehen
schränzend, trommelnd, krachend, donnernd durch die
Altstadt. Da formieren sich die Zünfte zu Umzügen, da sind
die Wirtschaften bis zum letzten Platz besetzt, und
niemand denkt ans Schlafengehen.
Ursprünglich hatte die Fasnacht noch einen militärischen
Zweck: Zu dieser Zeit im Jahr wurde jeweils eine Waffen-
und Uniformschau abgehalten, um die Wehrbereitschaft der
Bürger zu prüfen. Später, als die kriegerische Bedrohung
gewichen war, geriet die reine Festfreude in den
Vordergrund- so sehr zuweilen, daß die kirchliche
Obrigkeit um das Seelenheil der Luzerner bangen mußte.
In English:
The Lucerne Carnival
The people of Lucerne have never needed much of an excuse
to hold some sort of festivities, and the Lucerne
Carnival, preceding Lent, is one of the most famous annual
events in Switzerland. As in most popular customs, there
is a mixture of pagan and Christian traditions. The
Fritschi is one of the central figures in the Carnival.
It is actually not known where this Fritschi, or Brother
Fridolin, comes from. He may originally have been a spring
or fertility symbol. Old paintings and drawings show him
as a super-strong hero, while today he wears the mask of a
wizened old man and is accompanied by his equally ancient
wife. The present symbol of fertility is the Fritschikind,
a doll which is carried in the procession through the old
town by a girl in traditional costume. The Fritschi
procession is held on the Thursday of carnival week and
goes around the Fritschi Fountain on the Kapellplatz three
times. According to popular belief the original Fritschi
is buried here. This legend dates back to a local
municipal clerk, Renwart Cysat, who claimed that Fritschi
had in fact existed and died in 1480.
Whether this figure did in fact live or not, the Lucerne
Carnival is a very real event for the local population.
Masses of musicians dressed either in fantastic costumes
or tattered rags parade through the town singing, drumming
and shouting. The local guilds also participate in the
procession; all the restaurants and bars in the town are
full and no one would dream of going home to bed before it
is all over!
Earlier the Lucerne Carnival had a military aspect to it:
at this time of the year a parade of military weapons and
uniforms was organized to test the people's military
enthusiasm. Later, when the threat of war had lessened,
this annual event became a purely festive occasion, so
much so that church leaders became quite worried about the
spiritual well-being of their parishioners!
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