The first of May was just a few days ago, and I'd like to use this perfect opportunity to talk about some German traditions that I was not previously aware of and could not even begin to predict.
To start, I'll go back in time. On the Tuesday before we were released for Easter Break, I was walking the steep hill up to school when I came upon a huge group of teenagers dressed as old people. This wasn't the usual grey wig costume, either. Each was fully dressed in what I assumed were their grandparents' clothes, with carefully color-sprayed grey or white hair as well as wrinkles and the occasional cane or walker. To top it off, they decided that dressing up was not enough. Each was bent over at an odd angle, shuffling along as if their backs were troubling them. Some would wave canes at passerby and shout phrases that I could only assume ran along the lines of "young whippersnappers!" and "Ge' off my lawn!" When I came upon them, the group was standing in the middle of the road, blocking all traffic to, from, and by the school. They acted as if they could not hear the cars, and chose instead to jubilantly harass everyone in earshot.
I learned later that this was the 13th grade at my Gymnasium. But now I have to explain further. In Germany, there used to be 13 grades of school. It is dying out now, but is still existent in some places, especially in the Northern parts of Germany. My school is currently rolling out the 13-year program in favor of a 12-year program, meaning that the 12th graders that I am a part of this year will graduate after their 13th year, and at the same time as the grade below them, who will only have to do 12 years of school. Needless too say, they're not too pleased about the timing of the change. An interesting fact that should be noted is that the amount of material covered must be the same between the 13- and 12- year programs. This means that my grade has fewer hours in the day, and has to study a certain amount less than the grades below them. The reason for their studying is the Abitur. The Abitur (or just Abi) is the test that all German students must take at the end of Gymnasium. The test is taken only once, and the grade you receive will follow you forever. To add to that, I have heard that it is quite difficult. I have also been told that if, for example, you are trying to get into a medical program, you need a certain grade on your Abi. Without this grade, you can't get into the program. That's that. There are ways around this, but they involve extra years of schooling, and require the most dedicated students to pull off. So, as you can see, the Abitur is a big deal.
The graduating class (this year's 13th graders) is called the Abitur class. From what I understand, they have an especially challenging year, as they are continually building up to and studying for their Abitur. At Easter break they are let free from school, at which point they are given time (a couple months, I believe) to study on their own. This is where we come back to the costumes.
The week before Easter break is, therefore, a week of celebration for the Abi class. It is their last year of Gymnasium, of 13 hard years of work. To celebrate, they have Mottowoche. This is a week in which they dress up every day, then finally cap off the week with a huge party; both at school and in the city (at least in the Aachen area, they do.) Our Abi class dressed as old people, construction workers, and then Halloween characters and zombies. On Zombie day, they first blockaded the teacher's room, so the teachers couldn't get to their classes, then gave up and barged into different classrooms -- blasting Thriller on a boombox, shouting, dancing, and turning desks and tables over. On Friday school involved first a huge celebration (three hours of skits, performances, videos, and so on) followed by the rest of the upperclassmen having to clean up for two hours. As an exchange student, I was exempt from the cleaning.
It was a tradition I hadn't yet heard of, so the whole week struck me as odd to begin with, but I reall enjoying living through Mottowoche at my Gymnasium. It was interesting to see how Germans react to the end of school, as well as all the pranks that they pulled on the school at large. Also, it was quite nice to have the eventual class canceled here and there due to a zombie outbreak.
Now to fast forward to this week. The first of May was this Tuesday, and is a holiday in Germany. Everyone is free from work and school. Generally they choose to go enjoy the nice weather (we have been told that it is always sunny on May 1st, but we didn't believe them until such amazing proof. Monday was cloudy, Tuesday was sunny and warm, and Wednesday was rainy. It was as if the weather knew when it had to be nice, but only accepted that much of a break in its usual demeanor.)
The big May Day tradition here is quite German, and might only exist in this country (at least to this extent.) On the evening before May 1st, all of the men are supposed to go and buy birch trees, which they then plant in the yards of girls they like. These trees are wrapped in streamers, and make it obvious who is single and who is not, for miles around in some cases. As a fun fact, a tree wrapped in only white streamers is a shame tree, and a symbol of dislike or hatred. I have not seen one of these. While the men plant trees, the women make hearts out of roses, which they place by the door of their boyfriends' homes. Although both of these traditions seem to be perfect for secret admirers (think anonymous Valentines day cards) I have noticed that the majority are put up between couples who are already going out, and are actually discussed beforehand, as if the effort to put up a tree is absolutely expected and therefore nothing to be surprised about.
As this year was a leap year, the duty of tree-planting fell on the girls. Well, it should have. In reality, the men were still shamed into putting trees up in the yards of their love interests, and the girls still put out their hearts. I can only assume that any man who didn't place a tree, and quoted the Leap Year tradition as a reason, would soon find himself single. In any case, I talked about it with my host brother, and he claims that -per tradition- the girl must stand under the tree after two weeks (or was it two months?) with a crate of beer; thus proving her affection. This is perhaps the single most German thing I have heard all year, although not a word of it surprised me.
On the last day of April a friend and neighbor of mine offered me a ride home from school. On the way we stopped at a farm that was selling Maibäume (May trees) and bought one for his girlfriend. The trees are saplings that I assume are grown for this purpose; set out like pre-sawed Christmas trees on a Christmas tree farm. They were fifteen euros apiece, plus one euro per roll of addition streamers, and were sizable upon request. We cut the tree nearly in half to fit it in the minivan, and then were on our way.
That night I hardly slept at all. At first it was the usual low-level insomnia that I deal with nightly, but then I was awoken from my daydreams due to the sound of music, yelling, and laughter, as well as to the sudden presence of a light flashing in my window. I opened the curtains and watched as a huge team of college-aged guys brought the largest Birch I have seen into a neighbor's yard, then slowly raised it alongside her house. The process took a long time, with shouting and the shuffling of ladders and ropes. They cheered when they were done, and were on their way around 2 or 3 in the morning, leaving behind a tree that still stands -- larger than the house it was placed beside. At this moment the multitude of colored streamers is waving sadly in the breeze, as the whole thing is still soggy from the rain.
And that's about all there is to it. My entire area is now covered in brightly-colored shrubs, branches, and trees that mark the beginning of Spring and a great deal of dedicated (or grudging, I suppose) boyfriends.
As the tree across the street is blocked by a huge oak, I will give you a picture of a Maibaum that I found online.
