GERMANY: HUNDREDS OF ETHNIC SORBS IN SOUTHEASTERN GERMANY MOUNT THEIR HORSES TO CARRY A CENTURIES OLD EASTER TRADITION

Record ID: 863032

  • Title: GERMANY: HUNDREDS OF ETHNIC SORBS IN SOUTHEASTERN GERMANY MOUNT THEIR HORSES TO CARRY A CENTURIES OLD EASTER TRADITION
  • Date: 20th April 2003
  • Summary: VARIOUS VIEWS PARTICIPANTS WALKING AROUND THE CHURCH AND SINGING HYMNS VARIOUS INTERIORS CHURCH DURING SERVICE
  • Embargoed: 5th May 2003 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: RADIBOR, GERMANY
  • City:
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Quirky,Religion,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVABOJNZB4Q1UX4ES7MD3DY7JZUM
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Hundreds of ethnic Sorbs in southeastern Germany have mounted their horses to carry on a centuries-old Easter tradition, while thousands of spectators lined the roads to watch.
    Every Easter Sunday morning, these men don their tailcoats and top hats and mount their elaborately decorated horses to sing hymns, pray and ride into the neighbouring villages, announcing the news that Jesus Christ has risen from the grave.
    On Sunday (April 20) about 500 riders participated in the day-long religious ritual, which encompassed nine processions and passed through more than 30 villages.
    Historians believe the Easter ride dates back to before Christianity, when the men rode or walked around their fields at the beginning of Spring with the belief they would be protecting their land from evil spirits.
    The first documented rides by the slavic Sorbs, between the cities of Hoyerswerda and Wittichenau in what is now the Oberlausitz region of Saxony, took place in 1490. By 1541 the route between Wittichenau and Ralbitz, a distance of about 30 kilometers, was established.
    The Catholic custom is passed down through the families, often with three generations of men participating in the event, the youngest riders being 15 years old.
    Before they set off, the men first lead their mounts around their home church and graveyard three times, singing and praying to keep their communities healthy in the coming year. They then make their way along the road to the next villages. In every village they are greeted by the local people.
    At the end of the route, they again ride around the local church three times, and stop for a meal provided by the host village. In the afternoon the procession heads home.
    Most of the riders are not farmers, and do not own their own horses, therefore horses must be borrowed or rented from as far away as Lower Saxony.
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