1st May

Do you celebrate the 1st May? Around here it’s the “Tag der Arbeit” (Day of work), but the funny thing’s that nobody, nearly nobody, ´s working on that day. Well.. I work – like on every other holiday to. ; )

Today it’s also the day of the Maypole! Some strong men did arrange the maypole next to our house. I made you a picture of our maypole! =)
In some hours I’ve to go to work, because than there’ll be a big party! All the people come for lunch and for sure – for some beer! ; ) .. The music group from Petzenkirchen is playing and all ´re celebrating the day and the maypole.
Earlier there was a tradition! Young man tried to reach the top of the maypole by climbing up there without any additives! But not everybody made it and they hurt their selves, sometimes really badly! For sure it was fun to watch the guys and also to bet about who of them ´ll make it, but I’m also happy that they stopped it. I don’t want to watch a man, who’s slipping down the maypole in front of me!

I don’t know if it was a tradition to dance around the tree, like I know it from Sweden, but it could have been. So.. imagine some young girls and boys, who wear some traditional Austrian clothes and dance around the maypole! =)

You can also buy fortunes and when you’re lucky you can win something. The most prices ´re daily thinks, like a t-shirt or a umbrella, but you can also win some credit notes or even the maypole – it’s the first price! ; ) .. My dad always buys one or two fortunes for me, but I never won the maypole. I’m honest – I wouldn’t know what I should do with it. I’d give it to my dad and he can make firewood out of it! ; ) Sometimes they got some good credit notes – like for a supermarket or a library. Than I’d like to get them, but for sure I never won them! ; ) .. Last year I got a plant.. I gave it to my dad for the house.. and I never asked again for it! I even don’t know if it’s still alive! Oh my god.. I hope nobody killed my plant!

Maybe I go luck this year and can win something amazing! =) .. Hope you all cross the fingers for me! ; )


I also made you a photo from our church. There’s a legend about our town and the church, which I’m going to tell you know! ; ) ..
Once a knight met a bear in the forest and he prayed to god that he’ll build a church on this place, when he could fight the bear. I wasn’t easy for the knight, but he won the fight and he built a small church, as he promised. This small church grew to our church now!

From this legend my town got his name. Petz = name for a big bear – and Kirche´s german for church. So Petzenkirchen means “bear-church”. It’s a worse translation, but than you can understand it a little bit! ; )

On this picture you can also see a flag from Austria. It´s a tradition to put them up on the 1st of May.

Photos made by myself.