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 Festivals of Western Europe, by Dorothy Gladys Spicer, [1958], at sacred-texts.com FESTIVALS OF WESTERN EUROPE BY DOROTHY GLADYS SPICER THE H. W. WILSON COMPANY, NEW YORK [1958] NOTICE OF ATTRIBUTION.Scanned and proofed by Eliza Yetter, November, 2004. HTML formatting by JohnBruno Hare at sacred-texts.com. This text is in the public domain in the UnitedStates because it was not renewed at the US Copyright Office in a timely fashion,as required by law. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose,provided this notice of attribution is left intact. Festivals of Western Europe, by Dorothy Gladys Spicer, [1958], at sacred-texts.com PREFACE"Tradition ties the past to the present and is the link which binds the pastto the future," according to Camillo de Castello Branco, Portugal's greatnineteenth-century novelist.I have written FESTIVALS OF WESTERN EUROPE as one who loves the old inrelation to the new, and looks upon the past as the heritage of the future.Festas, fairs, holy days, pilgrimages and patronal village feasts--all theseevents have come down through the centuries, and intermingled with the traditionsof the church and the lives of peasant folk. Festivals once held to honor pagandeities have become associated in the course of time with the saints' days of theChristian calendar. Ancient fertility rites have been transmuted into parishceremonies to welcome spring and ensure growth of crops and health to beasts. Thefires once kindled to light the Sun God on his dark midwinter journey through theheavens now glow brightly in honor of the Christ Child's birth.Thus it is that festivals and ceremonies observed in European countries todayhave origins which are lost in the mists of time. These traditional events are a
 
treasury from which we draw knowledge of peoples, places and customs. Without thepast there could be no present, just as without the present there can be nofuture. This is why tradition is important.I have written about European festivals as a reporter who, through the years, hasvisited many countries and participated in many joyous traditional events. I havedescribed customs and ceremonies as I have witnessed them or have learned of themthrough reliable sources. To make the book more practical festival descriptionsare supplemented by reference material which includes a table of Easter dates andmovable festivals dependent upon Easter, a glossary of some common festival termsand a list of sources in different languages.Numerous items in FESTIVALS OF WESTERN EUROPE are revisions or duplications ofmaterial that originally appeared in my earlier work, The Book of Festivals,published by the Woman's Press in 1937 and long out of print. The rights in thispublication have reverted to the author.FESTIVALS OF WESTERN EUROPE includes descriptions of some of the principalfestal events of twelve different countries. The geographical basis of selectionis an imaginary line, drawn from Stettin on the Baltic to Trieste on the Adriatic.Roughly speaking, everything to the left of this line is "western European,"although at various points pieces of the different countries spill over the lineon one side or the other.The basis of festival selection has been more difficult than determininggeographical areas. For each country the cycle of the Christian year has beenfollowed as a skeleton to which local saints' days and regional celebrations havebeen added. In most countries each tiny hamlet has its own special fetes. Eachvillage celebrates its patronal feast with its own rituals, foods, and folkways.Since few "outsiders" ever hear of these feast days, customs practiced in onevillage often are totally unknown in the next. Out of hundreds of such days,especially in countries where "every day is a festa," I have tried to selectevents that are typical of certain localities or varieties of peasant culture.No national or political holidays have been included, or "festivals" in thesense of those periodical seasons of entertainment so popular among Europeantourists. The festivals I have described are the religious feast days and theanniversaries of "days of joy" which occur in the annals of the church and aredeeply rooted in the hearts of peasant people.Since folklore is probably the most fluid of all sciences, inaccuracies arebound to occur, despite careful checking, in any book depends largely upon folktradition and folk memory for its source. Additional hazards are met in dealingwith a variety of languages and dialects not only from one country to another, butoften within the same country. Nuances of meaning and emotion are blurred or lostin translating from a foreign tongue. In many instances archaic words, or wordsknown only to certain localities, occur in the folk rhymes and verses thataccompany certain festivals. For this reason I have consistently sought to retainnative flavor rather than give literal translations.I have given the English version of the festival in parentheses immediatelyfollowing each foreign title. When festivals local in significance or with specialregional characteristics are described, the name of the town or village in whichthe celebration occurs follows the English title. In order that the locale may beaccurately identified, I have also given the larger geographical area.* * *
 
I wish it might be possible to acknowledge my indebtedness to the many peoplein many countries who have contributed to the making of this book; for whereverthe festival trail has led me, I have met with friendliness and genuine eagernessto share time-honored traditions with someone from afar. Thus I have experiencedthe joy of "belonging," so to speak, to widely different lands and cultures, and adifficult research task has been lightened by the warmth of happy humanrelationships.I wish to give special thanks for generous help in translating from foreignlanguages, checking manuscript and many other services to the individuals andorganizations listed below under the various countries. I also acknowledgeindebtedness for much material to the sources given at the end of the book underSome Helpful Books:BELGIUM: Belgian Government Information Center, New York City.DENMARK: Danish Information Office, New York City.FRANCE: Mesdemoiselles Jeanne Pons and Henriette F. Liboz.GERMANY: German Tourist Information Office, New York City.ITALY: Italian State Tourist Office, New York City.LUXEMBOURG: Mr. George J. Kremer, in Echternach, who acted as my host andestablished many helpful local contacts, the late Mr. Corneille Staudt, Consul ofLuxembourg, and Miss Yolande Loesch, Deputy Commissioner of Industry and Tourism,Consulat General du Grand Duche de Luxembourg, New York City.NETHERLANDS: The Netherlands information Service, New York City. Dr. JacominaKorteling, in Deventer, interpreted for me and I am indebted to her for researchand translation. I am also indebted to Mr. J. M. Lentfest, De Twentsche Bank, inDenekamp, for interpreting and establishing contacts; Mr. Th. E. G. Looman, inDenekamp, for the Dutch version of the Denekamp Easter Hymn; Mr. ScholtenLubberink, klompenmaker in Denekamp, for information on the winter horn; Mr. ToonBorghuis, in Oldenzaal, for songs and information on Overijssel customs; PastorEerwaarde Jan Bolscher, in Beuningen, for local folk material.NORWAY: Norwegian National Travel Office, New York City.PORTUGAL: Mr. Joaquim G. de Vasconcellos, from Casa de Portugal, New York City;Sisters of Colegio do Sagrado Coracao de Maria, in Guimaraes, my hostesses duringFestis Gualterianas, who made contacts for me and helped in many ways; MissJuanita Parsons.SPAIN: Spanish National Tourist Department, New York City.SWEDEN: Mr. Holger Lundbergh and Mr. Stig Nasholm of The American Swedish NewsExchange, Inc., New York City.SWITZERLAND: Public Relations Department, Swiss National Tourist Office, NewYork City; Mrs. Maarten Bos, in White Plains, New York.DOROTHY GLADYS SPICER White Plains, New York December 1957 Festivals of Western Europe, by Dorothy Gladys Spicer, [1958], at sacred-texts.com
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