DER GEISCHDERSCHTRUTZ - PARADE OF SPIRITS: PHILADELPHIA

The Parade of Spirits this year was easily our largest. The estimate, by consensus, is that over 600 people attended! Many thanks to my fellow organizers, Janet Finegar and Linda Soffer, for helping to make this event a success! Thanks also to Lorenda and to Aly for the excellent entertainment following the Parade! Neil Kohl, as always, we owe you a debt of gratitude for donating your photography skills and your images! My personal gratitude goes out to Stacey Stewart for the official poster and other artwork, to Michael Stewart for the logistics of the buggy and for playing Belsnickel, and to Paul Mercurio and Gabriel Diaz for being the dead horses ahead of the buggy.  If Stephen King's "Christine" were a buggy... Photo by Neil Kohl And to Sadie, the skeleton in the buggy, for her patience.  Parade of Spirits 2022: Saturday, December 10, 2022! Mark your calendars!

Sneak Peek to whet your appetites for the entertainment that follows the Parade of Spirits! Fire Queen of Swords from FireBellydance by Lorenda on Vimeo . Please join us after the Parade to enjoy the performance by Lorenda and Aly ! Parade of Spirits -2021- Der Geischderschtrutz Liberty Lands Park 913 N. 3rd Street Philadelphia, PA Saturday, December 11, 2021 Gather at 4:00 PM EST Parade steps off at 4:36 PM Entertainment to Follow Rain, Shine, or Snow Weather may affect start time of entertainment

Late-Coming Idea: Der Holzhacker For a generally cheery, agricultural people, we Urglaawer sure do like our shadowy entities. One whom we have talked about in the past has yet to make an appearance at the Parade of Spirits because this entity is so shifty that we barely know where to start.  Vorsicht! Der Holzhacker Deep in the Dunkelgegend, at the base of the World Tree, in the darkest of the realms, there is a forest. The forest is dense, and there is a sense of enchantment combined with an eeriness that simultaneous calls to and pushes away the souls that are making their journey to The Mill.  Somewhere among the trees and the thickets is a strange entity. No one knows what the true nature or appearance of this being is. We only know that two people could be looking at this entity and seeing a completely different facade.  This being is known by a few names in Pennsylvania Dutch: der Holzhacker, der Holzmann, der Miessler, and in English, this being is most dramatically called The W

DER GEISCHDERSCHTRUTZ: PARADE OF SPIRITS: The two Germanic goddesses who turn up heavily in the Pennsylvania Dutch and German lore of this time of year are strongly associated with geese and birch trees. We could use some geese in the Parade. Plant spirits can also be in the Wild Hunt, so, as strange as it might sound, the spirit of a dead birch tree could walk, too! And, below are some ideas that would be awesome to have participants bring into the Parade. Grimm’s Description of Some on the Hunt: “ in front of the troop came an old man with a white staff, the trusty Eckhart, warning people to move out of the way, and some even to go home, lest harm befall them. Behind him, some came riding, some walking, and among them persons who had lately died. One rode a two -legged horse, one was tied down on a wheel which moved of itself, others ran without any heads, or carried their legs across their shoulders.’ ‘A drunken peasant, who would not make room for the host, was caught up and set up