2008 November UGH Kirchweihfest

BUWE, WAS HAM’R HEIT?

An Evening of Ethnic Pride

TRADITIONAL

GERMAN HUNGARIAN

KIRCHWEIHFEST

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23^RD– 2 pm

TICKETS ARE $25.00 PER ADULT and $12.50 FOR CHILDREN AGES 6 TO 12 AGE 5 AND UNDER ARE FREE

Includes

HOT DINNER BUFFET featuring Roast Pig will begin at 3 PM

PERFORMANCES

By Adult, Youth and Children in Banater Swabian Kirchweih Tracht

Carrying the Decorated Rosmarein Strauss and Kirchweih Spruce

HEIMATKLAENGE ORCHESTRA

Playing music from 2 pm to 6 pm

A KIRCHWEIHFEST EXHIBIT

Cash Bar

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Call Kathi at 215-368-3221

Or Janet Malofiy at 267-718-0059 or email to Kathi at kathi@temple.edu

Proper Attire Requested / German Clothing Suggested

GERMAN HUNGARIAN TRADITIONAL KIRCHWEIHFEST

Sunday, November 23

As the members of my family know, whenever I have even a few minutes to spare, I write notes, usually plans for the next or future newsletters. Of course inevitably I lose the notes; however, the thoughts usually remain in my mind. My family also knows, and the readers of this newsletter should have realized by now that my favorite event at our club is the KIRCHWEIHFEST. So, as I was sitting at my daughter’s kitchen table, waiting for my grandson to get ready for his soccer practice where I was to drive him, I began making notes. As I was writing, I looked up and out the window before me, and (I was writing about the Kirchweih) I saw a beautiful Rosemary Bush growing in a huge pot in the corner of the deck. (My son-in-law has a green thumb!) It made my think of a poem I copied many years ago from a German Danube Swabian newspaper we used to receive monthly. I really only have the first stanza memorized but the words always touch my heart.

MEI ROSMAREIN

A Rosmarein han ich geplanzt

Im Garte hinrem Haus,

Un wann mich mol’s Heemweh pockt,

Zieht’s hin mich zu dem Strauss.

Dort steh ich oft, in mich v’rsunk,

So ganz v’rtieft drvor

Un gsieh in der Erinnerung

Was ich mit ihm v’rlor.

Der Strauch der is mir so v’straut

So wie mei Heem g’wisz;

Wann ich ‘ne nor halt anschau tu,

Ich weesz net, wie’s mir is.

Mir is als waer’s a alte Friend

Den ich schon laengscht v’rmiszt

Den ich no Johre wied’r g’sieh

Un der nich freindlich grueszt.

Mei Rosmarein, der is mir lieb

So wie mei Heimat nor;

Er bleibt for immer mir Symbol

For des was ich verlor.

Drum haeng ich an mei’m Rosmarein

Und pfleg’ne no G’buehr;

Weil er ersetzt uf jede Fall

A Stick’l Heimat mir!

Many of our readers can read German. Many more cannot. I will try to explain the poem:

First let me explain that the title “Mei Rosmarein” means “My Rosemary (bush)”. We , the German Hungarians use a ‘rosemary bush” each year at our Kirchweihfest as the symbol of the festival. It is beautifully decorated with colorful ribbons and is chanced off as a special prize and has a special meaning for the winner. If you look up “rosemary” in the dictionary it states: “an evergreen plant (Rosmarinus officinalis) of the mint family, native to the Mediterranean region with clusters of light blue flowers and leaves that yield a fragrant essential oil used in perfumes, cooking, etc. It was earlier called rosmarine.”

Our German ancestors who lived in Hungary did not use it for cooking and probably not for perfumes either but pieces of the bush usually with colorful ribbons on it were worn as a decorative piece

at most celebrations. Rosemary stands for remembrance therefore it is fitting that we use this bush at our Kirchweihfest.

Back to the poem. It states: “I planted a rosemary in the garden in back of my house and when I feel homesick, I long for that bush. I stand there often, in deep thoughtfulness and see in my memory what I have lost. The shrub is so familiar to me as assuredly my home was. It is as if it was an old friend , one I had missed for a long time and finally after years we meet again with friendly greetings. My rosemary, I find delight in it, as I once delighted in my homeland. It will remain for me the symbol of all that is in the past. So I remain attached to my rosemary and take care of it as is fitting because it replaces a bit of home for me.”

The time is quickly coming, when there will no longer be anyone who once lived in that land that the German Hungarians called home. There will not even be anyone who knew and spoke to anyone who lived in those countries that our German ancestors called home – Hungary, the former Yugoslavia and Romania. We are a small group of people. Will our history survive? Is it important? Our history goes back to 1910 and soon we will be one hundred years old. We have celebrated the Banater type Kirchweih since our founding with our Rosmarein Strauss, the girls in white pleated costumes and colorful shawls, the boys with their decorated hats, the circle formed with polka steps, the German stanzas recited in powerful voices, the honor of dancing a waltz while carrying the strauss and swinging it wide. This is a beautiful site for many of us. On November 23^rd, our adult, teen and children groups will participated in this typical traditional festival. Will you be there?

UNITED GERMAN HUNGARIANS

4666 BRISTOL ROAD

OAKFORD, PA 19053