Station: [17] The Mayence Festival in Kelze

A girl from the village of Kelze in Hessen, singing the Mayence song. Kelze was founded as a Huguenot settlement in the late 17th century. The local community still retains some of the old traditions from their original home in the South of France.
Once a year, on the first Sunday in May, people in Kelze celebrate the Mayence festival. A little girl of three or four, wearing a white dress, becomes the Mayence Queen and is led through the village by the older girls. They carry a staff decorated with ribbons and flowers, and a basket containing a money box. As they go from house to house, they sing the Mayence song in the old Provençal language, collecting eggs and donations of money. In the end, the eggs are fried up and eaten at a shared meal.
Boys aren't allowed to take part in this springtime custom. But they have their own ancient Huguenot traditions that are similarly celebrated in Kelze. On Ash Wednesday, the boys parade through the village in costume and celebrate carnival. The procession is led by a boy dressed as a bear. The locals claim the exuberant celebrations on Ash Wednesday were originally intended as a deliberate provocation of the Roman Catholic Church, because Ash Wednesday heralds the start of Lent for Roman Catholics. 

Foto: © DHG

© Lea Voßmer is singing the Mayence song.