GERMANY: Buttmandln try to scare away the winter by shouting, rattling and hitting people

They scream, they hit innocent bystanders with sticks and they wear masks - all in the name of scaring winter away. Visitors to the Bavarian town of Maria Gern who are not familiar with the so called "Buttmandl" custom might well have got the fright of their life on Christmas Eve on Sunday (December 24), but there is no need for concern - all the shouting, rattling and stomping is just part of a show that has its origins in the middle ages. "Butt" is an old Southern German word for noise caused by rattling and bell ringing and "Mandln" stands for "men". The "noisy men" going from house to house shaking bell hung sticks are trying to wake up nature from hibernation. The tradition goes back to pagan times; the wooden masks, some of which are older than 50 years, still announce the heathenish nature of the ritual that by now has become a tourist attraction. On Christmas Eve, the "Buttmandln" afflict up to 70 homes in the otherwise quiet village of Maria Gern near Berchtesgaden. Families are being dragged out into the open, they are being rubbed down with black paint and then, just to round up the picture, they are being cast with snow. The really unlucky ones are being birched with the roods the "Buttmandln" are carrying. Bruises are guaranteed. To put the gruffy "Buttmandln" into a mellow mood, families keep alcohol and little presents at the ready, but the later the day, the rougher the "Buttmandl" get. The "Buttmandln" start their mischief at the beginning of the advent season. Christmas Eve is the last day of their appearance.

ITN Source | December 28, 2006

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