Parade of Spirits: Costume Suggestions!

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 on a high rock, where he waited for days before he could be helped out again. Here, Frau Holds at the head of her spirit-host produces quite the impression of a Heathen goddess is making her royal progress: the people flock to meet and greet Her…’

‘Eckhart with his white staff discharge is the office of a Herald, a Chamberlain, clearing the road before her. Her living revenue is now converted into specters.’”

—————-

Grimm, Jacob. James Steven Stallybrass, translator. Teutonic Mythology, Volume III. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004, pp. 934-935.

Parade of Spirits

Saturday, December 11, 2021

Liberty Lands Park

913 N. 3rd Street

Philadelphia, PA

16:00/4:00 PM

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The Parade of Spirits ("Der Geischderschtrutz" in Pennsylvania Dutch) is a grassroots, family-friendly, community-based, participatory parade that takes place in the Northern Liberties neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Originally founded as Krampuslauf Philadelphia in 2011, the event has expanded its focus to include more folkloric features. Traditionally, the time in mid-December prior to the winter solstice (Yule) was when the Pennsylvania Dutch held spooky parades and when children donned costumes and went "belsnickeling," or trick-or-treating. The Parade of Spirits is a modern expression of that old tradition. The Parade serves as a depiction of the Wild Hunt from Germanic mythology, and features liminal and shadow-side entities, such as Belsnickel, Krampus, and the souls of the recently departed. At the fore of the "Schtrutz" is the Germanic psychopomp, Gedreier Eckhart, who is a hero in German folklore and who serves the goddess Holle in

DER GEISCHDERSCHTRUTZ - PARADE OF SPIRITS: PHILADELPHIA

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