Germany’s many weird May 1st traditions

1. Putting adult (and stealing) a ‘May tree’

Left: Dresdeners put adult a Maibaum. Right: A immature lady climbs a Maibaum in Nesselweg, Bavaria. Photos: DPA.

Similar to a maypole of Anglo traditions, a German Maibaum (May tree) is erected on May 1st or a day before. Residents in Bavaria, East Frisia in Lower Saxony, Baden-Württemberg and elsewhere applaud this creatively non-believer protocol any year within their internal communities.

The tree (or pole) is flashy with charming streamers, flowers and in some places with scenes display internal crafts or activities.

Parades, coronet rope song and sausage-eating customarily accompany a eventuality of a tangible lifting of a tree. And don’t forget a special dim Maibock beer, brewed only for a occasion.

Locals from Ruhpolding, Bavaria float a stolen Maibaum down a street. Photo: DPA.

Perhaps a many stirring partial is a tradition of towns perplexing to take one another’s May trees, requiring locals to keeps a tighten watch day and night to sentinel off their disreputable neighbours. If and when a tree is stolen, towns contingency afterwards vanquish out a release for it, customarily involving thriving amounts of drink and food.

In 2004, some crafty thieves used a helicopter to take a May tree that had been placed atop Germany’s tip mountain, a Zugspitze.

Another plea in some areas is that people (the Maibaumkraxler in Bavaria) contest to stand a tree to get to a tip as quick as possible.  

2. Dancing until May comes

A Tanz in basement Mai celebration in Dortmund. Photo: DPA.

Another tradition mostly compared with a May tree is Tanz in basement Mai, or dancing into May, starting on Apr 30th and not interlude until each one of your toes are aching.

But removing footloose on a eve of May 1st now also extends outward of a tiny city circles, with vital clubs in large cities formulation special events around a tradition.

3. Partying with witches and devils

Celebrations of a ‘Witches’ Night’ in a Harz mountains. Photo: DPA.

The dancing tradition is also compared with Walpurgisnacht or Hexennacht (Witches’ Night), on that Germanic folklore says witches would accommodate on a rise of Brocken within a Harz plateau to revelry with a Devil.

To this day, women in a Harz area (and beyond) will dress adult and go dance on a towering top, warts, horns and all.

4. Jumping over fires

A ‘May fire’ in Sieversdorf, Brandenburg. Photo: DPA.

Another approach to applaud a witches’ night on May 1st is to light a bonfire, or Maifeuer, and burst over it, yet in some regions this isn’t always connected to enchanting sorceresses.

Other regions like Brandenburg do hang wooden total of witches into a abandon to sentinel off any evil-doers.

5. Protesting (or maybe partying)

Berlin’s Kreuzberg district turns into a large travel party, while elsewhere in a city some-more critical activists reason protests on May 1st. Photo: DPA.

A some-more complicated tradition is to use a International Workers’ Day as a approach to foster work rights and for left-wingers to criticism injustices.

Berlin’s Kreuzberg community became a hotbed for such demonstrations in 1987, when riots there were so heated that military had to shelter from a area for hours.

Protests still lift on and infrequently get aroused on this day, though there are also now choice events in Kreuzberg that radically spin a area into a large travel party, with low-pitched performances, dance parties in Görlitzer Park and unconstrained day-drinking.

6. Revealing a tip crush