The carpenters’ guild and students from the TU revive old traditions on the Altmarkt
Publication in the DNN of 28.04.2012
It was hard work for strong men. The maypole has been standing on the Altmarkt since 2.30 p.m. yesterday – a spruce, 20 meters long, weighing 600 kilograms, erected by around 50 carpenters in traditional costume. All with muscle power, without any technical aids.
Thomas Schneider, head master of the Dresden Carpenters’ Guild, came up with the idea. Because these very days, carpenters from Saxony, Thuringia, Brandenburg and Westphalia are here for the Federal Guild Day.
“We want to bring old virtues such as community spirit and professional honor back to life,” explained Schneider. “And this sense of community is particularly important when putting up the maypole.” The starting signal for the mammoth project was given at 1 p.m. in the blazing midday sun, and an hour and a half later the time had come: With combined forces, the carpenters managed to fix the maypole in a vertical position. It will now adorn the Dresden Spring Market until May 20.
The tradition of setting the maypole dates back to the 13th century. There are still myths about where the origin of the maypole can be found – whether in an ancient pagan fertility ritual or in the Christian Pentecost tree. In any case, putting up the maypole is a popular tradition to welcome spring. Visitors to the Dresden Spring Market were quite enthusiastic about the spectacle.
Ribbon dance “I’ve just moved to Dresden from Bavaria, and the tradition of putting up the maypole is very widespread in my home country
tet“, said one visitor “But it’s the first time I’ve seen a maypole being erected by hand, it’s really impressive.” Now that the maypole was up, the musical part of the program began. This was ensured by 30 TU Dresden students and scientists from 13 different nations who revived another old maypole-setting tradition, the ribbon dance.
Under the direction of the folklore dance ensemble “Thea Maass”, the students spent two months rehearsing the complicated dance, in which the colored silk ribbons of the maypole are woven into an elaborate pattern around the trunk. Anna, a computer science student and native of Ukraine, took part in the project. “I found learning a dance I didn’t know very exciting,” she said. Finally, various dance styles from Europe were demonstrated.
Friedrich Hellmuth
