the 25th of november, feast of st. catherine,[14] is in many districts the day selected for tying all these matrimonial knots. when this is not the case, then the weddings take place in carnival, oftenest in the week following the sunday when the gospel of the marriage at cana has been read in church; and wednesday is considered the most lucky day for the purpose.

the preparations for the great day occupy the best part of a week in every house which counts either a bride or bridegroom among its inmates. there are loaves and cakes of various sorts and shapes to be{102} baked, fowls and pigs to be slaughtered; in wealthier houses even the sacrifice of a calf or an ox is considered necessary for the wedding-feast; and when this is the case the tongue is carefully removed, and, placed upon the best china plate, with a few laurel leaves by way of decoration, is carried to the parsonage as the customary offering to the reverend herr vater.

the other needful provisions for the banquet are collected in the following simple manner: on the afternoon of the sunday preceding the wedding, six young men belonging to the brotherhood are despatched by the alt-knecht from house to house, where, striking a resounding knock on each door, they make the village street re-echo with their cry, “bringt rahm!” (bring cream). this is a summons which none may refuse, all those who belong to that neighborhood being bound to send contributions in the shape of milk, cream, eggs, butter, lard, or bacon, to those wedding-houses within their quarter; and every gift, even the smallest one of a couple of eggs, is received with thanks, and the messenger rewarded by a glass of wine.

next day the women of both families assemble to bake the wedding-feast, the future mother-in-law of the bride keeping a sharp lookout on the girl, to note whether she acquits herself creditably of her household duties. this day is in fact a sort of final examination the bride has to pass through in order to prove herself worthy of her new dignity; so woe to the maiden who is dilatory in mixing the dough or awkward at kneading the loaves.

while this is going on the young men have been to the forest to fetch firing-wood, for it is a necessary condition that the wood for heating the oven where the wedding-loaves are baked should be brought in expressly for the occasion, even though there be small wood in plenty lying ready for use in the shed.

the cart is gayly decorated with flowers and streamers, and the wood brought home with much noise and merriment, much in the old english style of bringing in the yule-log. on their return from the forest, the gate of the court-yard is found to be closed; or else a rope, from which are suspended straw bunches and bundles, is stretched across the entrance. the women now advance, with much clatter of pots and pans, and pretend to defend the yard against the besiegers; but the men tear down the rope, and drive in triumphantly, each one catching at a straw bundle in passing. some of these are found to contain cakes or apples, others only broken crockery or egg-shells.

{103}

the young men sit up late splitting the logs into suitable size for burning. their duties further consist in lighting the fire, drawing water from the well, and putting it to boil on the hearth. thus they work till into the small hours of the morning, now and then refreshing themselves with a hearty draught of home-made wine. when all is prepared, it is then the turn of the men to take some rest, and they wake the girls with an old song running somewhat as follows:

“all in the early morning gray,

a lass would rise at break of day.

arise, arise,

fair lass, arise,

and ope your eyes,

for darkness flies,

and your true-love he comes to-day.

“so, lassie, would you early fill

your pitcher at the running rill,

awake, awake,

fair maid, awake,

your pitcher take,

for dawn doth break,

and come to-day your true-love will.”

another song of equally ancient origin is sung the evening before the marriage, when the bride takes leave of her friends and relations.[15]

“i walked beside the old church wall;

my love stood there, but weeping all.

i greeted her, and thus she spake:

‘my heart is sore, dear love, alack!

i must depart, i must be gone;

when to return, god knows alone!

when to return?—when the black crow

bears on his wing plumes white as snow.

“‘i set two roses in my father’s land—

o father, dearest father, give me once more thy hand!

i set two roses in my mother’s land—

o mother, dearest mother, give me again thy hand!

i must depart, i must be gone;

when to return, god knows alone!

when to return?—when the black crow

bears on his wing plumes white as snow.

{104}

“‘i set two roses in my brother’s land—

o brother, dearest brother, give me again thy hand!

i set two roses in my sister’s land—

o sister, dearest sister, give me again thy hand!

i must away, i must be gone;

when to return, god knows alone!

when to return?—when the black crow

bears on his wing plumes white as snow.

“‘i set again two roses under a bush of yew—

o comrades, dearest comrades, i say my last adieu!

no roses shall i set more in this my native land—

o parents, brother, sister, comrades, give me once more your hand!

i must away, i must be gone;

when to return, god knows alone!

when to return?—when the black crow

bears on his wing plumes white as snow.

“‘and when i came to the dark fir-tree,[16]

an iron kettle my father gave me;

and when i came unto the willow,

my mother gave a cap and a pillow.

woe’s me! ’tis only those who part

can tell how parting tears the heart!

“‘and when unto the bridge i came,

i turned me round and looked back again;

i saw no mother nor father more,

and i bitterly wept, for my heart was sore.

woe’s me! ’tis only those who part

can tell how parting tears the heart!

“‘and when i came before the gate,

the bolt was drawn, and i must wait;

and when i came to the wooden bench,

they said, “she’s but a peevish wench!”

woe’s me! ’tis only those who part

can tell how parting tears the heart!

“‘and when i came to the strangers’ hearth,

they whispered, “she is little worth;”

and when i came before the bed,

i sighed, “would i were yet a maid!”

woe’s me! ’tis only those who part

can tell how parting tears the heart!

“‘my house is built of goodly stone,

but in its walls i feel so lone!

{105}

a mantle of finest cloth i wear,

but ’neath it an aching heart i bear.

loud howls the wind, wild drives the snow,

parting, oh, parting is bitterest woe!

on the belfry tower is a trumpet shrill,

but down the kirkyard the dead lie still.’”

very precise are the formalities to be observed in inviting the wedding-guests. a member of the bride’s family is deputed as einlader (inviter), and, invested with a brightly painted staff as insignia of his office, he goes the round of the friends and relations to be asked.

it is customary to invite all kinsfolk within the sixth degree of relationship, though many of these are not expected to comply with the summons, the invitations in such cases being simply a matter of form, politely tendered on the one side and graciously received on the other, but not meant to be taken literally, as being but honorary invitations.

unless particular arrangements have been made to the contrary, it is imperative that the invitations, in order to be valid, should be repeated with all due formalities, as often as three times, the slightest divergence from this rule being severely judged and commented upon; and mortal offence has often been taken by a guest who bitterly complains that he was only twice invited. in some villages it is, moreover, customary to invite anew for each one of the separate meals which take place during the three or four days of the wedding festivities.

early on the wedding morning the bridegroom despatches his wortmann with the morgengabe (morning gift) to the bride. this consists in a pair of new shoes, to which are sometimes added other small articles, such as handkerchiefs, ribbons, a cap, apples, nuts, cakes, etc. an ancient superstition requires that the young matron should carefully treasure up these shoes if she would assure herself of kind treatment on the part of her husband, who “will not begin to beat her till the wedding-shoes are worn out.” the ambassador, in delivering over the gifts to the wortmann of the other party, speaks as follows:

“good-morning to you, herr wortmann, and to all worthy friends here assembled. the friends on our side have charged me to wish you all a very good morning. i have further come hither to remind you of the laudable custom of our fathers and grandfathers, who bethought{106} themselves of presenting their brides with a small morning gift. so in the same way our young master the bridegroom, not wishing to neglect this goodly patriarchal custom, has likewise sent me here with a trifling offering to his bride, trusting that this small gift may be agreeable and pleasing to you.”

the bride, on her side, sends to the bridegroom a new linen shirt, spun, woven, sewed, and embroidered by her own hands. this shirt he wears but twice—once on his wedding-day for going to church, the second time when he is carried to the grave.

before proceeding to church the men assemble at the house of the bridegroom, and the women at that of the bride. the young people only accompany the bridal pair to church, the elder members of both families remaining at home until the third invitation has been delivered, after which all proceed together to the house of the bride, where the first day’s festivities are held.

in some villages it is customary for the young couple returning from church to the house of the bridegroom to have their two right hands tied together before stepping over the threshold. a glass of wine and a piece of bread are given to them ere they enter, of which they must both partake together, the bridegroom then throwing the glass away over the house-roof.

there is much speechifying and drinking of healths, and various meals are served up at intervals of three or four hours, each guest being provided with a covered jug, which must always be kept replenished with wine.

it is usual for each guest to bring a small gift as contribution to the newly set-up household of the young couple, and these are deposited on a table decked for the purpose in the centre of the court-yard, or, if the weather be unfavorable, inside the house—bride and bridegroom standing on either side to receive the gifts. first it is the bridegroom’s father, who, approaching the table, deposits thereon a new shining ploughshare, as symbol that his son must earn his bread by the sweat of his brow; then the mother advances with a new pillow adorned with bows of colored ribbon, and silver head-pins stuck at the four corners. these gay ornaments are meant to represent the pleasures and joys of matrimony, but two long streamers of black ribbon, which hang down to the ground on either side, are placed there likewise to remind the young couple of the crosses and misfortunes which must inevitably fall to their share. the other relations of the{107} bridegroom follow in due precedence, each with a gift. sometimes it is a piece of homespun linen, a colored handkerchief, or some such article of dress or decoration; sometimes a roll of sheet-iron, a packet of nails, a knife and fork, or a farming or gardening implement, each one laying down his or her gift with the words, “may it be pleasing to you.”

then follow the kinsfolk of the bride with similar offerings, her father presenting her with a copper caldron or kettle, her mother with a second pillow decorated in the same manner as the first one.

playful allusions are not unfrequently concealed in these gifts—a doll’s cradle, or a young puppy-dog wrapped in swaddling-clothes, often figuring among the presents ranged on the table.

various games and dances fill up the pauses between the meals—songs and speeches, often of a somewhat coarse and cynical nature, forming part of the usual programme. among the games occasionally enacted at saxon peasant weddings there is one which deserves a special mention, affording, as it does, a curious proof of the tenacity of old pagan rites and customs transmitted by verbal tradition from one generation to the other. this is the r?ssel-tanz, or dance of the horses, evidently founded on an ancient scandinavian legend, to be found in snorri’s “edda.” in this tale the gods thor and loki came at nightfall to a peasant’s house in a carriage drawn by two goats or rams, and asked for a night’s lodging. thor killed the two rams, and with the peasant and his family consumed the flesh for supper. the bones were then ordered to be thrown in a heap on to the hides of the animals; but one of the peasant’s sons had, in eating, broken open a bone in order to suck the marrow within, and next morning, when the god commanded the goats to get up, one of them limped on the hind-leg because of the broken bone, on seeing which thor was in a great rage, and threatened to destroy the peasant and his whole family, but finally allowed himself to be pacified, and accepted the two sons as hostages.

in the peasant drama here alluded to, the gods thor and loki are replaced by a colonel and a lieutenant-colonel, while instead of two goats there are two horses and one goat; also, the two sons of the peasant are here designated as wallachians. everything is, of course, much distorted and changed, but yet all the principal features of the drama are clearly to be recognized—the killing of the goat and its subsequent resurrection, the colonel’s rage, and the transferment of the two wallachians into his service, all being part of the performance.

{108}

at midnight, or sometimes later, when the guests are about to depart, there prevails in some villages a custom which goes by the name of den borten abtanzen, dancing down the bride’s crown. this head-covering, which i have already described, is the sign of her maidenhood, which she must lay aside now that she has become a wife, and it is danced off in the following manner: all the married women present, except the very oldest and most decrepit, join hands—two of them, appointed as brideswomen, taking the bride between them. thus forming a wide circle, they dance backward and forward round and round the room, sometimes forming a knot in the centre, sometimes far apart, till suddenly, either by accident or on purpose, the chain is broken through at one place, which is the signal for all to rush out into the court-yard, still holding hands. from some dark corner there now springs unexpectedly a stealthy robber, one of the bridesmen, who has been lying there in ambush to rob the bride of her crown. sometimes she is defended by two brothers or relations, who, dealing out blows with twisted up handkerchiefs or towels, endeavor to keep the thief at a distance; but the struggle always ends with the loss of the head-dress, which the young matron bewails with many tears and sobs. the brideswomen now solemnly invest her with her new head-gear, which consists of a snowy cap and veil, held together by silver or jewelled pins, sometimes of considerable value. this head-dress, which fits close to the face, concealing all the hair, has a nun-like effect, but is not unbecoming to fresh young faces.

sometimes, after the bride is invested in her matronly head-gear, she, along with two other married women (in some villages old, in others young), is concealed behind a curtain or sheet, and the husband is made to guess which is his wife, all three trying to mislead him by grotesque gestures from beneath the sheet.

on the morning after the wedding bridesmen and brideswomen early repair to the room of the newly married couple, presenting them with a cake in which hairs of cows and buffaloes, swine’s bristles, feathers, and egg-shells are baked. both husband and wife must at least swallow a bite of this unsavory compound, to insure the welfare of cattle and poultry during their married life.[17]

after the morning meal the young wife goes to church to be{109} blessed by the priest, escorted by the two brideswomen, walking one on either side. while she is praying within, her husband meanwhile waits at the church-door, but no sooner does she reappear at the threshold than the young couple are surrounded by a group of masked figures, who playfully endeavor to separate the wife from her husband. if they succeed in so doing, then he must win her back in a hand-to-hand fight with his adversaries, or else give money as ransom. it is considered a bad omen for the married life of the young couple if they be separated on this occasion; therefore the young husband takes his stand close against the church-door, to be ready to clutch his wife as soon as she steps outside—for greater precaution, often holding her round the waist with both hands during the dance which immediately ensues in front of the church, and at which the newly married couple merely assist as spectators.

as several couples are usually married at the same time, it is customary for each separate wedding-party to bring its own band of music, and dance thus independently of the others. on the occasion of a triple wedding i once witnessed, it was very amusing to watch the three wedding-parties coming down the street, each accelerating its pace till it came to be a sort of race between them up to the church-door, in order to secure the best dancing-place. the ground being rough and slanting, there was only one spot where anything like a flat dancing-floor could be obtained; and the winning party at once securing this enviable position, the others had to put up with an inclined plane, with a few hillocks obstructing their ball-room parquet.

the eight to ten couples belonging to each wedding-party are enclosed in a ring of by-standers, each rival band of music playing away with heroic disregard for the scorched ears of the audience. “walser!” calls out the first group; “polka!” roars the second—for it is a point of honor that each party display a noble independence in taking its own line of action; and if, out of mere coincidence, two of the bands happen to strike up the self-same tune, one of them will be sure to change abruptly to something totally different, as soon as aware of the unfortunate mistake—the caterwauling effect produced by this system baffling all description. “this is nothing at all,” said the pastor, from whose garden i was overlooking the scene, laughing at the dismay with which i endeavored to stop my ears. “sometimes we have eight or ten weddings at a time, each with its own fiddlers—that is something worth hearing indeed!”

{110}

the rest of this second day is spent much in the same way as the former one, only this time it is at the house of the bridegroom’s parents.

in some places it is usual on this day for the young couple, accompanied by the wedding-party, to drive back to the house of the bride’s parents in order to fetch her truhe—viz., the painted wooden coffer in which her trousseau has been stored. the young wife remains sitting on the cart, while her husband goes in and fetches the coffer. then he returns once more, and addresses the following speech to his mother-in-law: “it is not unknown to me, dearest mother, that you have prepared various articles, at the toil of your hands, for your dearest child, for which may you be heartily thanked; and may god in future continue to bless your labor, and give you health and strength to accomplish the same.

“but as it has become known to me that the coffer containing your dear child’s effects has got a lock, and as to every lock there must needs be a key, so have i come to beg you to give me this key, in order that we may be enabled to take what we require from out the coffer.”

among the customs attached to this first day of wedded life is that of breaking the distaff. if the young matron can succeed in doing so at one stroke across her knee, she will be sure to have strong and healthy sons born of her wedlock; if not, then she has but girls to expect.

the third day is called the finishing-up day, each family assembling its own friends and relations to consume the provisions remaining over from the former banquets, and at the same time to wash up the cooking utensils and crockery, restoring whatever has been borrowed from neighbors in the shape of plates, jugs, etc.—the newly married couple joining the entertainment, now at the one, now at the other house. this day is the close of the wedding festivities, which have kept both families in a state of bustle and turmoil for fully a week. everything now returns to every-day order and regularity, the young couple usually taking up their abode in a small back room of the house of the young man’s parents, putting off till the following spring the important business of building their own house. dancing{111} and feasting are now at an end, and henceforth the earnest of life begins, though it is usual to say that “only after they have licked a stone of salt together” can a proper understanding exist between husband and wife.