Another drop in temperature this week again showed that winter isn’t over yet in Calgary.
The past week had summery temperatures, but now we have to put on those hats and mittens that we had almost forgotten about. But despite of dwelling on how unpleasant winter is, let’s scoot forward and see how some countries say goodbye to winter, and hello to spring.
Growing up, I remember the yearly ceremonies for “Wintervertreibung” that the public could attend. Wintervertreibung stands for “chasing away winter,” and many different communities have their own ways of celebrating it, yet always with the same core traditions.
I remember one year specifically:
That year we decided to go see the Wintervertreibung outside a town that held it in the Palatinate forest. The first step is a parade, where all attendees are following a cart that carries a snowman made out of hay. It normally is still cold at the time of the parade, since it is in the morning, that the parade normally doesn’t take that long.
Upon return, the attendees will be able to warm up at a wonderful bonfire, sipping some hot chocolate and eating special pastries.
Now, how does that chase away winter?
Well, remember the snowman made out of hay? Well, at the end, the snowman is burned to symbolically chase away winter, and celebrate the arrival of (hopefully!) spring.
Winter is a time a lot of people really dislike, but it also allows for special celebrations as Wintervertreibung, which actually makes winter my favourite season!