DER GEISCHDERSCHTRUTZ - PARADE OF SPIRITS: PHILADELPHIA

12th Annual PARADE OF SPIRITS ( DER GEISCHDERSCHTRUTZ ) Liberty Lands Park 913 N. 3rd Street Philadelphia, PA Saturday, December 10, 2022 16:00/4:00 PM PARTICIPATORY PARADE: The Parade of Spirits is a family-friendly, grassroots, community-led event rooted originally in Alpine Germanic and Pennsylvania Dutch, but we encourage participants to share expressions from all cultures and backgrounds. Participants are to dress up in costumes reflecting the shady, shadowy, or downright dark-side characters from lore around the world. Costumes may be as simple as donning ghoulish makeup to appear as a spirit on the Wild Hunt to as elaborate as a full-on Krampus costume. Hand-made or hand-assembled costuming is preferred, though commercial Krampus costumes are welcomed. BRING NOISEMAKERS! This is most certainly -not- a quiet event! Assemble in Liberty Lands Park (913 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA) anytime around 16:00/4:00 PM. Opening remarks begin just prior to sunset, and the Parade steps ont...

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

We often hear the phrase, "The Turning of the Wheel," bandied about in many Heathen and Pagan traditions. This often refers to the changeover from one year to the next. For some, that turning is emphasized at the end of October. For others, it is observed at Yule, and, even among those who observe it at those times, most of us still recognize the fact that the wheel is in constant motion through the linear time to which the physical plane is (mostly) relegated to adhere. One will sometimes also hear phrases to the effect of, "The Wheel of the Year it tilted." Sometimes these comments are referring to the Earth's axial tilt or to the global seasonal differences that result from said tilt. In Urglaawe, though, the Yaahrsraad ("Year Wheel") is not perceived to function on a tilt as much at is is on a multi-layered spiral. Trying to identify a beginning and an end point is not always easy, particularly since the life-death-rebirth cycle is ongoing. There a...

Der Weggelzuck  - or the Buggy Pull  - is practice for the inclusion of the Buggy in the Parade of Spirits. Due to trying to work with Bristol Borough management on arranging for the Buggy Pull to take place on one street of the borough (in other words, doing the "right thing" and being denied permission for no real reason), we're going to do the Pull on private property within Bristol Borough or Bristol Township.  Please call the number on the poster above the day before the Pull for more information. This event will take place following Distelfink Sippschaft's Voryuul observance in Bristol Borough.

 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 ...