Nikolausspiel is the Christmas parade of Austria that could make you confused as to whether it’s Christmas or Halloween.
The Story of Nikolausspiel
The first written sources of the Nikolausspiel play come from the 19th century, before that the texts were handed down orally for decades. The scenic sequence of the play has hardly changed over the centuries. The props include hand-carved masks, fur coats, bells and other objects that are kept and exhibited in the “Strick Local History Collection” in Bad Mitterndorf.
It's a tradition celebrated as a play, a parade and also a rural game for everyone, which used to be widespread throughout the region but has been more and more forgotten over the decades. However, In the Hinterberg valley of Bad Mitterndorf, in front of the mighty Grimming rock chain, it is livelier today than ever.
As a tradition that has survived almost unchanged for over 150 years, Nikolausspiel is considered intangible world heritage by UNESCO.
Maintaining order, observing the laws and rules or obedience as a way to God's grace shine through as the subtext of the game.
About 100 men and boys walk about 4 kilometres from the district of Krungl to Bad Mitterndorf and perform this traditional game 5 times every year on December 5th in the Austrian city of Bad Mitterndorf.
The wooden handmade masks are worn by men in costumes who look like demons. The idea behind them is to maintain Christian traditions insinuating that consequences of bad actions might lead to hell. Each character has a very specific role in the play.
The Bartl character has the oldest (and maybe the scariest) mask, which is over 200 years old. The sacristans (Die Mesner) are men dressed in white that hurry ahead of the Saint Nicholas procession and ask the spectators for a donation with their sticks. Very special figures are the Schab: They might really look like a broom, but the intention of the costume is to reach far into the sky with their meter-long horns and walk along before the parade, snapping their whips pacedly.
Quartermasters, night watchmen and white horse riders open the game. The Rollenträger storms wildly into the living room, but the angel calms him down so that the children become calmer again, especially since Bartl follows with fruit and sweets in his humpback basket. In the Jedermannspiel from Bad Mitterndorf, the poor man (beggar man) dies, who confesses all his crimes to the pastor, but is not ready for remorse or improvement. Death appears in the form of the Grim Reaper and knocks him to the ground.
The forces of evil
The forces of evil, represented by two Krampus, drag him out of the inn. If Bishop Nicholas has already preached to refrain from sins and to be good, he warns again, but then leaves the spectators in the room to the devil of marriage (Eheteufel). He tells how he breaks up marriages. Lucifer, who rushes in wildly, speaks primarily of his many helpers. In these two rhyming texts, the old and the rural are particularly reflected.
At the end of the mocking Lucifer sermon, he calls in all his helpers and quite a mess ensues, causing fear on the spectators. The blacksmith (Schmied) crawls around under the tables along with Habergeiß and tries to “tie down” those who are escaping by tapping their toes (or just off them) with a hammer. When the hustle and bustle of the dark forces reaches its climax, the night watchman's horn sounds - and the spook is over. The watchmen (Nikolojäger) have everything under control and ensure order.
Not only the Saint Nicholas Play itself but also the rituals and customs in the weeks leading up to 5 December, such as “Kramperl gehen” (dressing up and carousing as Krampus), are part of Bad Mitterndorf’s “fifth season”. Beginning on the first weekend of November, children take the opportunity to practise cracking the whip in an eight-beat pattern, and the 140 members of the St Nicholas group also enjoy a pleasant get-together to prepare for the event, with the actors and actresses of the individual scenes practising their own rituals in smaller groups.
Bibliography:
Comments