Today's post has more than one topic.
Let's start with the Schwibbogen or Lichterbogen (candle arch/light arch) which I have wrote about before.
First a little history taken from that old blog post.
Johann Teller, a blacksmith who made equipment for mines in the Ore Mountains, made the first candle arch in the 18th century (info on the exact year varies). His inspiration was the pit hole entry and he made it for the "Mettenschicht", an old miners' tradition in the Protestant region. It was the last shift before Christmas which ended early with a simple meal and a celebration.
While early arches were made from wrought iron, wood became more and more popular from the beginning of the 20th century.
A famous design created by Paula Jordan in 1937 showed the main sources of income for the people of the Ore Mountains and traditional symbols.
Designs changed over the years to cities or forest scenes and you find all sizes, small ones for windows, but also huge ones put up by cities, like this one in Johanngeorgenstadt.
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| Picture by Hejkal on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) |
When I got my own light arch, that was such a surprise for me. My friend had the idea and her talented husband made it. Isn't it gorgeous and just perfect for me?
It also presented me with the opportunity for one of my favorite pictures of dem Dekan who loves the arch (meaning he likes to gnaw on the tips of the trees, I'm very glad they are sturdy).
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| I love this so much that I had one of my favorite cartoonists - Lingvistov - turn it into a cartoon version. |
Let's get to another Christmas tradition now. The following movie is as much a part of Christmas here as "Little Lord Fauntleroy". A list of broadcast dates comes out early and while there are people who think it has been shown often enough, there are more people for whom it is a must watch at least once a year - and I'm one of those.
I'm talking about "Drei Haselnüsse für Aschenbrödel" (Czech title "Tři oříšky pro Popelku") from 1973, "Three Wishes for Cinderella" in English (there's only a version with English subtitles).
The film was a co-production between Czechoslovakia and East Germany which were both known for their beautiful fairy tale productions at the time.
Originally this was supposed to be a summer movie, but that was changed to winter due to production issues, and although Christmas isn't mentioned once, it being broadcast around the holidays turned it into a Christmas classic in Czechoslovakia (later Czechia), Germany, Norway (which made its own version in 2021), but also other countries.
The history of the film - from script over the actors and actresses to stunts, set or costumes - is just as interesting, by the way.
Now what is different about this Cinderella? I'll take this from one of my old "quote of the week" posts.
Well, this Cinderella is a bit of a tomboy. She loves to ride her horse Nikolaus if she can get away from her mean stepmother and stepsister, she climbs trees, she's an excellent archer.
Every winter the King, Queen, and their son travel to their castle and make a stop at the stepmother's farm, a chance she uses to get an invitation to the ball for her daughter and herself.
The Prince and his friends do their best to avoid any responsibility which makes the King decide that the Prince will have to choose a bride, much to his dismay.
On their escapes to nature, the young men meet Cinderella, once as the young girl covered in ashes, once at a hunt she wins by shooting a cone off a tree, wearing an outfit the first of three magic hazelnuts has given her. She's not intimidated by the Prince, but stands her ground which impresses him (not realizing it's her both times, though).
The second hazelnut gives her a beautiful gown in which she attends the ball hidden behind a veil. The Prince is blown away, but she won't agree to his proposal until he solves her riddle.
"The cheeks are smudged with ashes, but it's not the chimney sweep. A hat with feathers, the crossbow over the shoulder, but it's not a hunter. ... Thirdly, a silver brocaded gown with train for the ball, but it's not a princess, my noble sir."
The Prince is clueless and Cinderella runs off. She loses her shoe on the stairs, well, I think you know how that tale ends.
That part of the movie was shot at Moritzburg Castle in the state of Saxony.
Now let me connect the stories of the Schwibbogen and Aschenbrödel.
My friend said she would like to visit to drop my Christmas gift early and in person because it was too awkward to send it by mail.
After making sure it wasn't a kitten, I generously granted access to my flat.
Out of the bag came - Moritzburg Castle as a light arch! It's smaller than my cat arch and so very cute, but of course the best about it is that it doesn't just have the balcony and the stairs that Cinderella ran down, but also the shoe!
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| Der Dekan was shocked when I told him that his feet were too big for the shoe - rude! - but he was even more shocked when I told him the measures the stepsisters in the original fairy tale took hoping for marriage with the Prince. One cut her heel off, the other her toe ... he didn't want to be a Princess anymore after hearing that. |
And while I was surprised that der Dekan broke one of his rules and came down off the wardrobe although my friend isn't direct family (he let her pet him before she could even bribe him which seriously made me doubt everything I know about him), I wasn't surprised that he had to do a very thorough check of the arch as the resident safety officer.
