#HansTrapp

Petra van CronenburgNatureMC@mastodon.online
2025-12-01

In our #museum and #culturalHeritage center we had an animation with:
🌲 the Chrischtkindl
🌲 St Nicolas
🌲 a real donkey
🌲 Rüpelz aka Ruprecht or Rupert.

Guess who was the real star of children and adults. More in alt text.

#advent #Christmas #traditions #donkey #Nikolaus #Nicolas #KnechtRuprecht #Rüpelz #HansTrapp #Alsace #noel

The actors like in the post. Chrischtkindl is all in white, with a completely veiled face and an Advent wreath on her head (normally with burning candles). In Alsace as in other regions, the Christkind (child Jesus) is always female and the bringer of the gifts on Christmas. St Nicolas brings gifts on Dec 6th, the legend says, he is riding on a donkey. Our Nicholas as well as the donkey, was a woman. Nicholas's troll-like evil companion varies depending on the region. Rüpelz is often also called Hans Trapp, after a violent knight from the Palatinate, Hans von Trotha, who once flooded the Alsatian town Wissembourg in a fight against the abbey. He wears a fantasy costume with lots of old fur. In former times, the extremes of good Saint Nicholas and evil Rüpelz were used as a disciplinary measure: only well-behaved children received presents.

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