Festivals and customs in the countryside - memories from the southwest
The film collects people's memories of important events of their childhood and entertaining incidents connected with the regionally different festivals + customs. Many black-and-white photographs and historical archive material complement the stories + pictures from today.
Festivals and customs used to be a welcome change from the hard everyday life in the villages. They were the rare opportunity to meet, celebrate together and exchange news. And perhaps also to meet the love of one's life.
In the Kinzigtal in the northern Black Forest, people traditionally celebrate Stork Day in February. Alois Krafczyk from Haslach loves to lead the children through the old town as the stork father and ask for gifts. Further south in the Black Forest, the carnival season is also the time for window-smashing, an old Alemannic carnival custom to drive away the winter spirits.
Josef Pschera, a carpenter from Bernau, took part in this at the age of five, with discs still carved by his grandfather at the time. When Neustadt-Gimmeldingen in the Palatinate celebrates its Almond Blossom Festival, spring begins with the first wine festival in the Palatinate.
Matthias Frey reports on the time when his great-grandfather founded the festival. The oldest wine festival in Germany is celebrated in Winningen on the Moselle. Lothar Specht remembers his many performances with the Winningen dance + traditional costume group.
On their journey through the villages of Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, SWR authors Nicola Haenchen, Elmar Babst and Holger Wienpahl also visit the Bartholomäusmarkt in Bad Ems and the Prämienmarkt Veitsrodt in Hunsrück. They are present at the shepherd's festival in Markgröningen in the Strohgäu region + at the egg harvest in Kiebingen near Rottenburg am Neckar. The film collects people's memories of important events of their childhood and entertaining incidents connected with the regionally different festivals + customs. Many black-and-white shots and historical archive material complement the stories and pictures from today.
Broadcasting on 07th of April 2023 at 11.00am on SWR/ ARD
Music: POPVIRUS Library