Ebook wait

Then setting fire to the figure they allowed it
and the wheel to roll down the slope. Next day they cut a tall
fir-tree, tricked it out with ribbons, and set it up in the plain.
The men then climbed the tree to fetch down the ribbons. In Upper
Lusatia the figure of Death, made of straw and rags, is dressed in a
veil furnished by the last bride and a shirt provided by the house
in which the last death took place. Thus arrayed the figure is stuck
on the end of a long pole and carried at full speed by the tallest
and strongest girl, while the rest pelt the effigy with sticks and
stones. Whoever hits it will be sure to live through the year. In
this way Death is carried out of the village and thrown into the
water or over the boundary of the next village. On their way home
each one breaks a green branch and carries it gaily with him till he
reaches the village, when he throws it away. Sometimes the young
people of the next village, upon whose land the figure has been
thrown, run after them and hurl it back, not wishing to have Death
among them.


Pages:
863 864 865 866 867 868 869 870 871 872 873 874 875 876 877 878 879 880 881 882 883 884 885 886 887