December 2003 - Nr. 13
A Busy Festive Season
by Herwig Wandschneider
This is the season for one Weihnachtsfeier after the other. K-W’s German-Canadian Business and Professional Association (GCBPA) was no exception. The Weihnachtsfeier was meant to be a family event (with a few friends), with enactment of a typical pre-Christmas Nikolaus and Hans Muff (Knecht Ruprecht) tradition from the Rhineland area. Traditions vary across Germany and it was enlightening to note that so many had no knowledge of the name Hans Muff. Trailing Nikolaus, Hans Muff follows with a sack stuffed with a child (only the legs stuck out), a "Rute" in his hand ready to implement the verdict of Nikolaus, if someone came to the party, if the shoes were not polished. He, on the other hand carries a sackfull of shoestuffers and goes from house to house (table to table) to deliver the little bags of sweets and fruit.
The 100 or so participants fully enjoyed this re-enactment, singing Christmas tunes and listening to poems as Nikolaus delivered the little sacks and Hans Muff followed rattling the chain, and slamming the "Rute" on the floor. All the while Waldemar Scholtes provided piano music in the background or as accompaniment to the German pre-Christmas songs. Harry Drung was the MC for this event, with jokes and comments to lighten the hearts.
