1st May


Uh oh, something far too political for me. You know that I'm such a loser when it comes to politics. But I try my best for you.
Today is one of these yearly trouble days where I stay at home and try not to leave the house. Demonstrations, anti-demonstrations, allowed ones and not allowed ones, and finally riots of different extent. In Kreuzberg, a metropolitan area of Berlin and one of the liveliest, most of the big shops closed down already yesterday evening, barricading their front doors and windows with metal plates - as every year! - as it's as sure as the "Amen" in church that the stone-throwers are coming to town once again. The ones who can't afford metal nail their windows up with wood. Those poor buggers usually suffer damages. Car owners who leave their cars out in "hot" areas, or only too close to them, don't get the paid for the damage by their insurances. Already on the evening of the 30th of april you can encounter rackets in the public transport system, so it's a smart move to just stay at home.

What is it about? Tag der Arbeit/ Tag der deutschen Arbeiter ("Day of Labour"); the unionists are fighting for better conditions, the others for the contrary, some people who only want to join the fights come to Berlin from everywhere around and take the main part in provoking escalations. This year we have extra police forces coming from Bavaria to support and boost Berlin's own police force. Berlin is not the only city affected, but it's an absolute hotspot, being the capital of germany.

Also, three other events around the first of spice the situation up:

Today it's not only 1st may, no, this particular year they also made it "Tag der EU-Erweiterung", the day when 10 east european countries are added to the European Union (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakian, Slovenia, Malta, south Cyprus).

Events that repeat every year: Traditionally, the 30th of april is "Walpurgisnacht", night of the witches or sybils - whatever is more p.c. to you - where all witches ride on their brooms to Mount Brocken to meet with the devil, and they party dancing naked around the fire and jumping over it. At midnight the spook is over and it's Ostaria's turn (those two heathen events are not related), because 1st of may is also the spring festival from the old "Germanen" of the heathen goddess Ostara. Traditionally this last one was held on the first full moon in may as the good ol' heathens weren't too good with any calendar (did they have one?), but because it doesn't always fall together, officially it's the 1st of may, and *really* it is the first full moon (in two days if I don't err).
Yay! In my family we're big time into the heathen festivals. They are somehow more sympathetic than the christian days, but then we're not church members so that comes naturally to us i suppose. But I have to disappoint you, I'm not dancing around the fire naked - t h i s year *bright smile*. Two years ago we spent this night in Harz, where the Brocken is located, and there the young girls and the older women traditionally dress up as witches this day, so the real witches are fooled into thinking they were witches too and thus don't harm them. At nights there's music, big fires and some people even dance naked. Now that is more heathen fun than sitting in church!

"Same procedure as last year?" - "Same procedure as every year, savvy?!"

Posted: Sa - Mai 1, 2004 at 02:12 Uhr      

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