Customs - Wild clauses are on the move in the Allgäu
Wild creatures have been on the loose again in the Allgäu. On St. Nicholas Day and in the days leading up to it, scary characters can traditionally be seen in many places. In the evening hours, masked young men in costumes parade noisily through the streets, such as on Tuesday evening in Haldenwang.
According to one theory, the customary spectacle can be traced back to the fact that people used to try to drive away winter spirits with the spooky disguises. On the occasion of St. Barbara's memorial day on December 4, there is also the Bärbeletreiben in some communities, in which unmarried women and girls aged 16 and over take part in rag dresses.
Another part of the tradition is that the spectators of the ghoulish procession are given a little whack with the rod every now and then. Sometimes, however, the participants overdo it. On Sunday in Markt Wald (Unterallgäu district), four masked clauses injured a child and a teenager, and the police are now investigating. The other cloisters had only administered "harmless blows" as part of the custom, the officials reported.
Even in the past, there was the problem that the Klausen drive sometimes got out of hand. The Klausen associations then began to register the participants so that possible bodily harm could be prosecuted.
Klausen and Bärbele in the Oberallgäu
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Men in traditional costumes continue this old custom in the Allgäu region of Germany, especially during St. Nicholas Day. Unruly behavior by these masked characters has been a concern in the past, with incidents like the one in Markt Wald, Bavaria, where four men injured children and teenagers during the annual Klausen drive. In other parts of Bavaria, such as Swabia, St. Barbara's Day is also celebrated with a similar tradition known as the Bärbeletreiben.
Source: www.stern.de
