The Calendar and zwischen den Jahren Traditions

When they hear the phrase “zwischen den Jahren” (“between the years”) most Germans, Austrians, and German Swiss think of the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. In Switzerland it is known as “Altjahrswoche” (“old year’s week”), which is a bit more specific. This period of time, also called Rauhnächte (also Rauchnächte or Raunächte), the “hairy, fur-covered” or “rough” nights, are associated with various customs and traditions that include hairy creatures (devils, demons, etc.) running about, and people trying to drive them away. Predicting the future, soothsaying, and prophecy using various means – lead-pouring (Bleigießen) being the most common – are also a popular tradition “between the years.”

The Swiss Altjahrswoche (Old New Year’s Week) observance in the Hasli Valley features traditional noisy parades to bring in the new year and drive away evil spirits. Learn more below. PHOTO: Screenshot from haslital.swiss

But few native German-speakers are aware of just how far back this “between the years” concept reaches, and how it predates our current calendar. It is easy to forget the artificiality of calendars and human time-keeping, and how for centuries the new year did not even begin on January 1. Depending on where and when you were living, at various times the calendar year began on December 24/25, March 1, March 25, September 1, January 1, or January 6. Although Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582 (the Julian calendar was already a full 10 days out of synch), it was 1691 before Pope Innocent XII declared that the calendar year would begin on the first day of January, eliminating the between-the-years period from December 25 (the old date) until January 1 (the new date). But even after that, many countries continued to use use Caesar’s Roman/Julian calendar until the 18th century. England and Italy did not make January 1 the official date of the new year until around 1750.

New Year’s Eve (Silvester in German) gets its name from a pope who became a saint. Pope Sylvester I (also Silvester) held that office from 314 until his death in 335 in Rome, and lends his name to New Year’s Eve in Germany and some other European countries. The Roman Catholic Church observes his feast day on December 31, the date of his death.

Then there is the notorious six-year error made by the monk Dionysius Exiguus (“the Humble”) in the 6th century, when he calculated the date of Easter and thus also the first year of our Lord (Anno Domini, A.D., Christigeburt in German). As it turned out, Dionysius, working in Rome, mistakenly used the Roman dating system, and thus set the birth of Jesus six years late. Of course the Judaic, Islamic, and other calendars continue to use their own dating systems, ignoring the Christian system. The Hebrew or Jewish calendar determined its beginning date “from the creation of the world.” The Islamic Hijri calendar, with lunar and solar versions, uses the Hijri era, established as the Islamic New Year of 622 Common Era (CE), when Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina and established the first Muslim community, an event commemorated as the Hijra. So when we say “calendar” we should probably be a bit more specific.

The concept of “between the years” also dates from the ancient Egyptian “intercalary month” (Heriu Renpet) of the lunar calendar. The start of the new year originally coincided with the annual rising of the waters of the Nile in summer. However, the actual date of the flooding could vary by as much as 80 days, making it a very inaccurate marker for the beginning of the year. But the Egyptians had observed that the star Sirius reappeared after an absence of 70 days and heralded the rising of the Nile, so they adopted this far more reliable date as the marker of their new year. However, it was still a bit imprecise, so a new civic calendar was developed during the Early Dynastic Period based around three seasons of four 30-day months each divided into three “decades” (sets of ten days). This only amounted to a 360-day year, so five days (Heriu Renpet) were added to the end of each year, or “between the years.”

The Hebrew calendar also employs a kind of between-the-years concept in the ten-day period between Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish new year) and Yom Kippur (“day of cleansing/atonement”). According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person’s fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to “seal” the verdict. At the end of Yom Kippur, one hopes that they have been forgiven by God.

So it becomes apparent that the beginning of the new year has long been associated with looking forward and predicting one’s fate, the year’s weather, crop success, and numerous other future imponderables. And that brings us to customs and traditions related to the period between the years.

Traditions Related to the Week Between Christmas and New Year’s Day

There are both traditions and superstitions – and sometimes a blend of the two – connected to the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, known as Twelve Nights or Boxing Week in English. While now only a seven-day span of time, originally, as discussed above, there were twelve nights between the end of the old year on December 24, and the start of the new year on January 6 – today’s Epiphany (Dreikönigstag, Three Kings Day), a span of time also known as Rauhnächte in German. (The “Rauhnächte” originally ran from the winter solstice on or around December 21 until the old New Year starting date of January 6.)

A Perchtenlauf in Klagenfurt, Austria. They are not Krampus figures! PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

Perchten in South Germany and Austria
Frau Perchta was a legendary pagan goddess, possibly related to the Nordic Freyja. Today “Perchten” (pl.) are masked figures usually seen in a street procession known as a Perchtenlauf that takes place during the last week of December and the first week of January, most commonly on or before January 6 (Epiphany). The Perchten costume consists of a brown wooden mask and brown or white sheep’s skin. Perchten are associated with midwinter and the embodiment of fate and the souls of the dead. There are two kinds of Perchten: gute (good) Schönperchten and böse (evil) Schirchperchten. Although recently Perchten and Krampusse are increasingly seen together in one event, the Krampus figure is traditionally part of the December 5/6 St. Nicholas observance, not during late December or early January. What they do have in common is a demonic look designed to drive away evil spirits in noisy, raucous street processions. They also have associations or groups known as a Pass (f.).

Rummelpottlaufen in North Germany
In Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), as well as in parts of southern Denmark and the Netherlands, a custom known as Rummelpottlaufen is observed early on New Year’s Eve. Children in makeup/masks and costumes go around in groups carrying a “noise pot” (Rummelpott) from door to door singing traditional Low German Rummelpott songs or speaking rhyming chants: “Fru, maak de Dör op! / De Rummelpott will rin.” (Lady, open the door! / The Rummelpott wants in.”) The participants hope to be rewarded with apples, sweet pastries, or other treats. (Yes, a bit like Halloween, but at a different time and with a different purpose.) The pots are used like a drum to bang out a rhythm to go with the songs or chants. If the neighbors aren’t willing to share any goodies, the children sing songs that mock them. Their costumes help keep them from being identified. In part the Rummelpottlaufen tradition is related to similar efforts to drive away demons and bad spirits in the winter and during the Rauhnächte. (See “Perchten” above.)

Bauern-Silvester (Farmers’ New Year’s Eve) in Austria
On December 30, a day before the actual New Year’s Eve, in Styria (Steiermark) the so-called Bauern-Silvester is celebrated. This tradition stems from a local legend about a farmer who got caught in a bad snow storm and was unable to return to Graz (Austria’s second-largest city) in time for the normal observance, and celebrated a day early with a hermit before finally returning home. The custom has now become increasingly popular throughout Austria for people who have to work a New Year’s Eve shift.

Altjahrswoche and Trychelzüge in Switzerland
In the Swiss Alpine valley known as the Haslital, various villages drive out evil spirits from their villages during Altjahrswoche (Old Year’s Week) with noisy daily parades called Trychelzüge (cow bell processions), an ancient tradition dating from Celtic times. The parades and the “Old Year’s Week” in this Swiss valley run from the night of December 25 until the second to last workday of the year, the “Ubersitz.” Each day the bell ringers make increasing amounts of noise in an effort to drive away any spirits who still haven’t got the message. – In other parts of Switzerland there are similar processions, although not always during Altjahrswoche. Similar cow bell processions are conducted by local associations set up for that purpose. On New Year’s Eve in the Bern region village of Laupen there is a cow-bell parade, similar to that in the Hasli Valley, designed to ward off evil spirits.

Alter Silvester (Old New Year’s Eve) in Switzerland
In the Zurich Oberland region, villagers celebrate Old New Year’s Eve on the January 11 or 13 (St. Hilarious), following the old Julian calendar. While church bells ring, farmers beat on wooden boards to “thresh out” the old year.

Superstition: Not washing whites during Twelve Nights
A well-known between-the-years superstition says that bad things, including death, will happen if you wash whites (underwear, bed sheets, etc.) and hang them out to dry during the period between Christmas and the New Year. The explanations vary, but one danger cited is that wandering spirits may get caught up in the drying laundry and take revenge upon the household. The ghost could even use the sheets later as a shroud to wrap the corpse of someone who will die in the new year. On the other hand, modern washer/driers may solve this problem. Or just get your washing done before Christmas.

Superstition: What to eat for a healthy, wealthy New Year
This varies from region to region, but two popular food items are sauerkraut and lentil soup. The lentils supposedly represent coins (money). As for sauerkraut, it’s generally considered health food by most Germans. Carp is a popular German Christmas dish, but it is also recommended for the new year. To make doubly sure you’ll have a prosperous new year, carry some carp scales in your purse or wallet.

A typical German Glücksbringer (lucky charm) with a “penny” and a lucky pig. See more below. PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

Lucky Charms: Glücksbringer
With all these nasty superstitions, you may want a lucky charm to ward off any potential unpleasant stuff. Germans consider the following items as bringers of good fortune:

• Chimney sweeps (Schornsteinfeger) – You may have to settle for a miniature likeness, sold with clover pots around New Year’s in Germany. But there are real chimney sweeps about. You’re supposed to touch their jacket of shirt buttons for good luck. See Erin’s Superstitions in Germany GW blog post for more about this.
• Ladybugs (Am.), ladybirds (Br.) (Marienkäfer) – Not only are these insects good at devouring aphids, they are also considered lucky – perhaps because they are so helpful and beautiful. There are thousands of varieties worldwide, but Germans claim the Siebenpunkt-Marienkäfer (the seven-spotted ladybug, scientific name: Coccinella septempunctata) is the luckiest one. After all, seven is a lucky number. The German name for ladybug reflects how farmers and gardeners appreciated this helpful insect. It was a gift from God or the Virgin Mary (Our Lady). Hence also “ladybug” in English. Some alternate German terms also show this: Frauenkäfer, Muttergotteskäfer, Herrgottskäfer, and Himmelskäferlein. There are many more regional and dialect terms in German, including Mariechenkäfer in Berlin. Many cultures consider ladybugs lucky
• A lucky pig (Glücksschwein) – It doesn’t have to be real live pig. A wood or plastic piggy charm will do just fine. Pigs were once a symbol of wealth and prosperity. If you had pigs, you were doing well. You were a lucky person, ein Glückspilz (“a lucky mushroom”)!
• Four-leaf clover (Glücksklee) – Many cultures consider clover, particularly the four-leaf variety, to be lucky – Germans included. Only one in 5,000 clovers has four leaves. Even fewer have five.
• Penny coin (Eurocent) – Symbolic of money, but not too expensive. Back in the days of the Deutsche Mark it was a Pfennig. Even further back: “Wer den Pfennig nicht ehrt, ist des Talers nicht wert.” (Those who don’t value the penny are not worthy of the pound/taler/dollar. A penny saved is a penny earned.) The German “Taler/Thaler” is the source of the word dollar.

Guten Rutsch! (Have a happy, prosperous New Year!)

More | Silvester: New Year’s Eve in Germany

Related Pages
AT THE GERMAN WAY

• Silvester: New Year’s Eve in Germany – How do Germans welcome the new year?
• Bleigießen – Lead Pouring – How Germans predict the future for the new year!
• “Dinner for One” – A most unusual German New Year’s tradition
• And the sky became a sea of light – Silvester in the Hauptstadt – from the GW Expat Blog
• How to Survive a Berlin New Year’s – from the GW Expat Blog
• Christmas from A to Z – German Christmas traditions and terms
• Christmas in the USA and Germany– A comparison chart
• Epiphany and the Sternsinger – About January 6 in the Germanic Christmas tradition
• Holidays and Celebrations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

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