Today is Good Friday – a usually somber holiday. Franconians believe that if you air out your bedding on this day, then somebody in your family will die. Well, I started to lift the bedding this morning, but suddenly remembered my Franconian roots and pulled them back in quickly. I guess you could call me superstitious, but it’s more likely that I was brainwashed as a child.

While growing up, we were not allowed to laugh on Good Friday or look happy in any way. Dancing was forbidden, discos were closed, and no music was played in restaurants. We had to refrain from anything fun and/or delicious tasting, and people wore their best spring clothing to church – even in still freezing temperatures.

Thirty-five years later, Good Friday around Oberursel in Hesse is a bit different. We saw lots of people lining up at the ice cream parlor, and many others enjoying a bike ride in this lovely spring weather (25°C). I believe religious rules have eased up a bit, and not just in our area.

These photos were taken in Seulberg, a constituent community of Friedrichsdorf/ Hesse.

The Hessenmann, a popular design, is a feature in this half-timbered house/restaurant called Terra Cotta.

There are many cute little towns and villages around our area. Flower pots sit outside and nobody takes them. The sidewalks are swept, not only out of obligation, but with pride. Some people still like to put on their best outfit for this holiday and somehow time stood still – people are still very quiet on this somber day. There were no kids playing outside and no music echoing from anyone’s balcony.

All the shops are closed on this public holiday, which makes it a bit boring for all non-Christian foreign residents around here – so I have been told.

Germans are generally quiet anyway, but Good Friday really mutes them.

Tags: Easter Holiday in Germany, Friedrichsdorf, Good Friday, Karfreitag in Deutschland, Ostern, quiet holidays in Germany, Seulberg, Terra Cotta Restaurant in Seulberg

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 10th, 2009 at 8:24 pm and is filed under Places of interest in and around Oberursel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.