The following letter was sent to Strathdearn Community Council. It is just too nice NOT to share!
Waltersberg, March 2019
The winter has now passed and the spring has taken over. And the first daffodil and crocus flowers are blooming in Waltersberg. Not long now and the whole village will be in full blossom. And the meadows surrounding Waltersberg will shine in a wonderful green.
The winter this year brought us a lot of snow and the kids had great fun at the village slopes with the sledges. And of course some of the parents also had fun sledging down the hillside.
An old tradition in Bavaria (and other parts of Germany) is the so called fifth season. And it’s called “Fasching“ (carnival) and is celebrated mainly from January till February. In the old tradition the winter was driven out. The people would dress-up colourful and wear bizarre masks and then run screaming and gesturing wildly thru the streets, casting out the winter and making room for the spring.
We don’t celebrate after the old tradition quite the same anymore in Waltersberg, but we still haven’t forgotten how to celebrate carnival. Here are some of our different events at the beginning of the year.
The first event is the so called “children’s carnival“, celebrated by the kindergarten and primary school kids in the rectory in Waltersberg with the parents. Lots of games for the children (and parents) are played. The fun session starts with a polonaise and other fun loving community games follow. The kids compete against each other while playing musical chair or just enjoy themselves with singing or dancing games. There are homemade cakes, sausage rolls and different types of drinks for the physical well-being. It was a successful afternoon, organised by some of the parents.
Of course the older kids want to celebrate a carnival party, too. Though we have a “teeny carnival” for the kids aged ten to fifteen. Here the village and neighbouring teenagers have a turbulent evening. With lots of games and dancing, were the fun always comes first. Of course there is great food and drinks served, like traditional you would have, at a Bavarian party. Also different kind of sandwiches, cocktails and sorted non-alcoholic drinks was on offer. It was already past 10 PM, when the kids started to go home. They all agreed there should be another teenager carnival party next year in Waltersberg.
You think we are done with the celebrations, wrong. The seniors want to celebrate carnival every year also. For this the villagers age 60 and older meet in the rectory for a colourful afternoon carnival. Also for their entertainment, some of the kids practised a few pantomimes and or funny sketches. This afternoon was filled with the laughter of the young by heart. This event is organized by the village parish council.
Following the old tradition, the dressed-up children out of the village go from house to house on the last day of carnival. Stopping at every door and singing a song or saying a poem. The owners reward them with sweets or money for this. Similar too you’re Halloween.
As you can see on the attached pictures, we have a lot of school kids in Waltersberg. Starting at 5th grade, they learn English at school. So it came to our mind or shall we say we had this idea, that maybe our kids from the age of 11 start a letter friendship (or email). Our kids are open-minded about it, that’s why we ask this question. Do you think that would be of interest to your youth?
Best regards to all in Tomatin, most of all to Lee-Anne and Vivian.
A hearty “Servus”
Angela Sippl
(translated by Gerd Miesbauer)
members of the TWT-Team (Tomatin-Waltersberg-Twinning-
Angela Sippl, Claudia Schneider, Nicole and Matthew Röder also Gerd Miesbauer “Translator”
Johann Schrafl, “Town speaker”
