Fasnacht in Helvetia WV-Appalachian History


	Fasnacht in Helvetia WV-Appalachian History

ofcapri

5-23-2009 3:33 PM

286 views

tags:

anecdotes.

ofcapri says:

Fasnacht means "fasting eve" in Schwyzerdutsch, the German dialect spoken in the Swiss canton of Helvetia. In West Virginia's Helvetia, homes are decorated with scary figures to frighten Old Man Winter away. These after all are the Rauhnächte (rough nights), the nights between winter and spring, when evil ghosts are supposed to go around.

Add a Comment

Login to Comment. Not a member yet? Sign up

Today's Top Clips

visit the Top Clips page

View the Top Clips from May 23, 2009

Embed This Clip In Your Site...

<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/592b7acc-e8c4-4abf-88b8-a771627e90ab/9BA980CE-7C73-459E-A5F6-DC440598556F/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html" href="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html" style="font-size: 11px;">appalachianhistory.blogspot.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html"><DIV id="banner-inner" class="pkg">
<DIV id="header" class="header section"><DIV id="Header1" class="widget Header">
<H1 id="banner-header">
<A href="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/">Appalachian History</A>
</H1>
<H2 id="banner-description">Stories, quotes and anecdotes.</H2>
</DIV></DIV>
</DIV></blockquote><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://www.clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/images/clip-icon.gif" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html" href="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html" style="font-size: 11px;">appalachianhistory.blogspot.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html"><H3 class="entry-header">
<A href="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html">Fasnacht in Helvetia WV</A>
</H3></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html"><H2 class="date-header">2/27/09</H2></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html"><DIV>Lent is here, and that means that many residents of Helvetia, WV will be foregoing hosenblatt meat pastries deep-fried in lard for awhile. Luckily last Saturday folks there had ample opportunity to consume that delicacy, along with donuts and rosettes, at the annual Fasnacht celebration. The Swiss settlers of Helvetia combined the Catholic celebration of Lent with the Protestant Winterfest of Zurich, when Old Man Winter is burned in effigy to hasten the advent of spring, to produce this annual February revel. </DIV></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html"><div align="center"><img src="http://content9.clipmarks.com/blog_cache/appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/img/90D70C8A-793C-4A08-AA3C-E8F06C9FC524" alt="Musicians in Helvetia WV" /></div></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html">Fasnacht means "fasting eve" in Schwyzerdutsch, the German dialect spoken in the Swiss canton of Helvetia. In West Virginia's Helvetia, homes are decorated with scary figures to frighten Old Man Winter away.</blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://appalachianhistory.blogspot.com/2009/02/fasnacht-in-helvetia-wv.html">This photo of musicians in Helvetia is undated; prior to the construction of the Star Band Hall in 1910 Fasnacht celebrations took place in homes</blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/9BA980CE-7C73-459E-A5F6-DC440598556F/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content6.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

New from the makers of Clipmarks: Amplify.com - Don't just share the news...Amplify it!

Clipmarks: Home; New Clips; Top Clips; Dashboard

Popular Topics: News; Life; Science; Technology; Entertainment

Get Started: Sign Up; Install Clipping Tool; How Clipping Works; Clip-to-Blog™; ClipSearch

Tools and Resources: FAQ; ClipWeek; Top Clippers; Top Tags; Site Map

About Clipmarks: About Us; Contact; Copyright; Privacy; EULA

Search Options

Today's Top Clips