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German Folklore
German folklore is the folk tradition which has developed in Germany over a number of centuries. Seeing as Germany was divided into numerous polities for most of its history, this term might both refer to the folklore of Germany proper and of all German-speaking countries, this wider definition including folklore of Austria and Liechtenstein as well as the German-speaking parts of Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Italy. Characteristics It shares many characteristics with Nordic folklore and English folklore due to their origins in a common Germanic mythology. It reflects a similar mix of influences: a pre-Christian pantheon and other beings equivalent to those of Norse mythology; magical characters (sometimes recognizably pre-Christian) associated with Christian festivals, and various regional 'character' stories. As in Scandinavia, when belief in the old gods disappeared, remnants of the mythos persisted: There are: * Frau Holle or Perchta, a "supernatural" patron o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Liturgical Year
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may be used in connection with different seasons of the liturgical year. The dates of the festivals vary somewhat among the different churches, although the sequence and logic is largely the same. Liturgical cycle The liturgical cycle divides the year into a series of seasons, each with their own mood, theological emphases, and modes of prayer, which can be signified by different ways of decorating churches, colours of paraments and vestments for clergy, scriptural readings, themes for preaching and even different traditions and practices often observed personally or in the home. In churches that follow the liturgical year, the scripture passages for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weiße Frauen
In German folklore, the Weiße Frauen (, meaning White Women) are elf-like spirits which may derive from Germanic paganism in the form of legends of light elves (Old Norse: ''Ljósálfar''). The Netherlands, Dutch Witte Wieven are traceable at least as far back as the 7th century, and their mistranslation as ''White Women'' instead of the original ''Wise Women'' can be explained by the Dutch word wit also meaning white. They are described as beautiful and incantation, enchanted creatures who appear at noon and can be seen sitting in the sunshine brushing their hair or bathing in a brook. They may be guarding treasure or haunting castles. They entreat mortals to break their spell, but this is always unsuccessful. The mythology dates back at least to the Middle Ages and was known in the present-day area of Germany. Origins ''Weiße Frauen'' literally means "white ladies" in German language, German. The association with the color white and their appearance in sunlight is thought by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhinemaidens
The Rhinemaidens are the three Nixie (water spirit), water-nymphs (''Rheintöchter'' or "Rhine daughters") who appear in Richard Wagner's opera cycle ''Der Ring des Nibelungen''. Their individual names are Woglinde, Wellgunde and Flosshilde (Floßhilde), although they are generally treated as a single entity and they act together accordingly. Of the 34 characters in the ''Ring'' cycle, they are the only ones who did not originate in the Old Norse ''Eddas''. Wagner created his Rhinemaidens from other legends and myths, most notably the ''Nibelungenlied'' which contains stories involving water sprites (Neck (water spirit), nixies) or mermaids of the Danube. The key concepts associated with the Rhinemaidens in the ''Ring'' operas—their flawed guardianship of the Rhine River, Rhine gold, and the condition (the renunciation of love) through which the gold could be stolen from them and then transformed into a means of obtaining world power—are wholly Wagner's own invention, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nixie (folklore)
The Nixie, Nixy, Nix, Näcken, Nicor, Nøkk, or Nøkken (; , ; ; Norwegian ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; or ) are humanoid, and often shapeshifting water spirits in Germanic mythology and folklore. Under a variety of names, they are common to the stories of all Germanic peoples,The article ''Näcken''tome 20, p. 317 in (1914) although they are perhaps best known from Scandinavian folklore. The related English ''knucker'' was generally depicted as a worm or dragon, although more recent versions depict the spirits in other forms. Their sex, bynames, and various transformations vary geographically. The German and his Scandinavian counterparts were male. The German was a female river mermaid. Similar creatures are known from other parts of Europe, such as the Melusine in France, the Xana in Asturias (Spain), and the Slavic water spirits (e.g., the Rusalka) in Slavic countries. Names and etymology The names are held to derive from Common Germanic or , derived from PIE ("to wash"). The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siren (mythology)
In Greek mythology, sirens () are female humanlike beings with alluring voices; they appear in a scene in the ''Odyssey'' in which Odysseus saves his crew's lives. Roman poets place them on some small islands called Sirenum scopuli. In some later, rationalized traditions, the literal geography of the "flowery" island of Anthemoessa, or Anthemusa, is fixed: sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the islands known as the Sirenuse, near Paestum, or in Capreae. All such locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks. Sirens continued to be used as a symbol of the dangerous temptation embodied by women regularly throughout Christian art of the medieval era. "Siren" can also be used as a slang term for a woman considered both very attractive and dangerous. Nomenclature The etymology of the name is contested. Robert S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Others connect the name to σειρά (''seirá'', "rope, cord") and εἴρω (''eírō'', "to tie, join, faste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Switzerland border, Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Constance downstream, it forms part of the Germany-Switzerland border, Swiss-German border. After that the Rhine defines much of the Franco-German border. It then flows in a mostly northerly direction through the German Rhineland. Finally, the Rhine turns to flow predominantly west to enter the Netherlands, eventually emptying into the North Sea. It drains an area of 185,000 km2. Its name derives from the Gaulish language, Gaulish ''Rēnos''. There are two States of Germany, German states named after the river, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, in addition to several districts of Germany, districts (e.g. Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, Rhein-Sieg). The departments of France, department ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lorelei
The Lorelei ( ; or , or ; also found as ''Loreleï'', ''Lore Lay'', ''Lore-Ley'', ''Lurley'', ''Lurelei'' and ''Lurlei'' throughout history) is a , steep slate rock on the right bank of the River Rhine in the Rhine Gorge (or Middle Rhine) at Sankt Goarshausen in Germany, part of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 1930s Loreley Amphitheatre is on top of the rock. It has been an infamous fluvial disaster site since its first records during the 10th century, with a varied mythos, ranging from dwarfs to a siren trying to explain the high number of ship wrecks and the loud echo inside the passage. Etymology The name comes from the old German words , Rhine dialect for "murmuring", and the Old German term "rock". The translation of the name would therefore be "murmur rock" or "murmuring rock". The heavy currents, and a small waterfall in the area (still visible in the early 19th century) created a murmuring sound, and this combined with the spec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Türst
Türst () is a legendary folkloric figure from the agricultural communities of Lucerne, dating to the pre-Christian era. He is described as a "dreadful huntsman", of whom people should be wary in stormy weather. Türst blows his hunting horn through villages in the tempestuous months preceding Epiphany, accompanied by a baying pack of three-legged hunting dogs. Specific beliefs about him vary from region to region. Characteristics Türst's distinguishing features are his threat "drü Schritt rechts, gang uswägs", or, roughly, "step right; get out of my way" in which the careless pedestrian is turned into a member of the dog-pack if he should fail to get out of Türst's way in time. It is also said that barn doors should stay open at this time, enabling Türst to hunt through the barn unhindered. Sträggele, his wife, appears in some Türst legends. Other legends say that Türst terrifies dairy cows, causing them to sicken and cease their milk production. Regional variants In Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ewiger Jäger
The ''ewiger Jäger'' (eternal hunter; ''der ewige Jäger''; ) is a local variant of the ghostly wild huntsman (German ''wilder Jäger''; ) found in German, Belgian, and American folklore. Germany According to the Brothers Grimm’s '' Deutsche Sagen'' (German folktales), Count Eberhard of Württemberg encountered the ''ewiger Jäger'' while hunting in the woods. After hearing a loud swooshing and other noise like that made by a huntsman, Count Eberhard dismounted his steed and asked the ghost whether it wanted to harm him. The ghostly hunter said no and told the count that he was a human like him and was formerly a lord. When the ghost was a lord, he found such pleasure in hunting that he begged God to let him hunt until Judgement Day. His wish was answered, much to his chagrin, and ever since, the ''ewiger Jäger'' had to chase the same deer for five and a half centuries before meeting Count Eberhard. He also told the count that his house and nobility were still undisclosed. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heimchen
The ''Heimchen'' (sg., pl.; ) is a being from German folklore with several related meanings. In the first place, ''Heimchen'' (diminutive of ''Heim'' = home) is the German term for house cricket. The house cricket is one of the animal appearances taken by dwarves, as is also attested by the dialectal names such as ''Herdschmiedl'' (hearth smith) and ''Heunemänken'' (''Mänken'' = manikin).Riegler: ''Grille''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1162. In North Palatinate and Western Palatinate, the house cricket, there known as ''Krikelmaus'' (''Maus'' = mouse), is a nursery bogey used to scare children. Riegler: ''Grille''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1166. In Pomerania, the ''Heimchen'' feed lost children with bread rolls and milk inste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
