In parts of Germany three weeks before Easter, it’s customary to celebrate spring’s return with a Sommertagszug or summer procession. Though this year’s round of such fests was held last Sunday, for me, the 14th of March will forever be synonymous with Sommertagszugs since ‘Pi Day‘ 2010 is the date my husband and I first met and then enjoyed the Sommertagszug celebration together in Heidelberg, Germany. The fest has been celebrated in Heidelberg for more than 500 years.
Believed to have pagan origins, the fest celebrates spring’s return and winter’s banishing. Children take to the streets with sticks adorned with colorful, ruffled ribbons, topped with pretzels and eggs. In Heidelberg, they walk along the city’s long pedestrian street, the Hauptstrasse, until they reach the Market Square (Marktplatz), where dancers (dressed as winter and spring) theatrically battle it out on stage. Finally, a paper effigy of winter is torched. The best part of the celebration is, of course, the pretzels that are handed out to onlookers, and the realization that spring has returned.
A woman depicting Liselotte (a German princess who promoted traditions such as the Sommertagsfest) watches the procession. Liselotte was the sister of Louis XIV.
- For more details about Heidelberg’s calendar of events, visit the Official Website of the City of Heidelberg.
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Filed under: Holidays and Commemorative Days, Travelogues Tagged: culture, Easter, Europe, Germany, Heidelberg, holidays, Sommertagfest, Sommertagszug, travel
