Advent - Kick-off for mountain parades: "Positive stress" for associations
The Saxon miners' associations kicked off the Advent season with a mining parade in Chemnitz on Saturday. Around 1,000 people took part in the parade, with around 3,500 visitors attending the final concert, as a spokesperson for the city of Leipzig told the German Press Agency.
The highlight of the year has thus begun for Saxony's miners' associations. Dressed in their traditional costumes and accompanied by bands and singing, they parade through the towns and cities again during Advent, recalling the centuries-old mining tradition in the Free State, from which many Christmas customs originate.
After the start of Advent, the mining parades continue the very next day. For example, a parade is planned in Aue-Bad Schlema in the Erzgebirge district as part of the Aue Christmas market. Mountain parades are also on the program this weekend in Oelsnitz (Vogtland district), Zwönitz and Thum (both in the Erzgebirgskreis).
The mountain parades are not only intangible cultural heritage, but also attract tens of thousands of onlookers every year. Around a dozen alone are organized by the regional association of miners', smelters' and miners' clubs during Advent, its chairman Ray Lätzsch told the German Press Agency. There are also many other regional processions.
"This is the highlight of the year for us and the reason why people are active in the associations," explained Lätzsch, speaking of "positive stress" for himself and his colleagues. The aim is to present mining and metallurgy traditions to the public, pass them on and bring joy to people's hearts in the run-up to Christmas. According to Lätzsch, around 3800 people are involved in the more than 60 associations.
On Sunday, a Miners' Christmas in the Leipzig Gewandhaus will spread Christmas cheer with, among others, the music corps of the mining town of Schneeberg. The parades traditionally end with a parade in Annaberg-Buchholz in the Erzgebirge district. As Christmas Eve falls on the fourth day of Advent this year, the parade takes place on the Saturday before (December 23).
The closing ceremony of each parade includes the "Steigerlied" (miners' song), which with its verses "Glück auf, Glück auf! Der Steiger kommt" is considered a secret anthem by many in Saxony. In spring, it was ennobled as intangible cultural heritage. "We are very proud of this because this song has its origins here in Saxony," emphasized Lätzsch.
While a number of more modern adaptations of the song have recently been recorded and posted on the internet for the Free State's image campaign "So geht sächsisch" - from blues, swing and breakdancing to a song in Persian - the miners' associations continue to rely on the traditional version for their parades. "When I'm in Bavaria, I want to see a traditional Schuhplattler and not some pop version," said Lätzsch, explaining his decision.
Bergparade Chemnitz Events of the miners' associations during Advent
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Source: www.stern.de
