In 2014, the festivals and customs of the Lusatian Sorbs throughout the year were included in the list of intangible cultural heritage of the Federal Republic of Germany. This recognizes the commitment of the Sorbs to preserve their unique living cultural identity.
Germany is creating its own register of intangible cultural heritage as part of the relevant UNESCO Convention, where, for example, among others, blue printing, Heidelberg hip hop culture, and Cologne Carnival are represented. In this way, the cultural particularities of the country are highlighted.
Another UNESCO fact: As early as 2005, UNESCO published the Atlas of Endangered Languages. In it, Upper Sorbian is classified as a "threatened" language and Lower Sorbian as "severely threatened".
Intangible Cultural Heritage
Sorbian customs and traditions form part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in Germany (UNESCO) – a recognition of their cultural uniqueness and vitality. This heritage must be actively safeguarded.
List of the customs and festivals of the Lusatian Sorbs throughout the year
Ptaškowa swajźba (Lower Sorbian) | Ptači kwas (Upper Sorbian) | Bird Wedding
> Brandenburg/Saxony
The Bird Wedding (25 January) is particularly popular among children. It is a gift-giving custom in which the birds “thank” the children for feeding them during the winter.
On the evening before, children place plates on the windowsill. The next day they find pastries shaped like birds and nests or other sweets.
Originally, the custom was celebrated in Upper Lusatia and was later introduced to Lower Lusatia by nursery and primary school teachers. Since the 1960s, it has been a fixed part of programmes in many nurseries and primary schools. Children dress up as birds, parade through villages or towns, and present short cultural performances. In Sorbian nurseries, they wear regional wedding costumes and re-enact a traditional wedding party.
Since the late 19th century, evening events for adults have also been held, usually hosted by a wedding announcer. From the mid-20th century onwards, the Sorbian National Ensemble has shaped these programmes, often combining revue formats with folkloric elements. Performances take place across Lusatia, in Lower Lusatia often in connection with “Zapust” (carnival). Special professional performances are also developed for children.
Zapust (Lower Sorbian) | Póstnicy (Upper Sorbian) | Sorbian/Wendish Shrovetide
> Brandenburg/Saxony
See Zampern and youth parade
Camprowanje (Lower Sorbian/Upper Sorbian) | Zampern
> Brandenburg/Saxony
Disguised participants move from house to house in various groups (youths, married couples, children, and now also mixed groups), accompanied by musicians. Traditionally, there were specific costumes such as the straw bear, the stork, the rider on a white horse, and in the Schleife region also the “double person” and the egg woman. Today, clown, animal and other costumes are also common.
After dancing with the lady of the house and sharing a drink, participants receive eggs and sausage, and nowadays also money for the so-called “egg feast”, the dance evening of the respective group. In many villages, the men’s carnival with a dance evening for married couples marks the end of Zampern. In some places, young women attend the dance wearing traditional Sorbian costume.
Zapust (Lower Sorbian) | Youth parade
> Brandenburg
Since the late 19th century, a festive youth procession has taken place in Lower Lusatia on a Saturday or Sunday after Zampern, accompanied by musicians. Young women wear dance costumes, while young men wear black suits and hats decorated with a “Zapust bouquet” made of paper flowers.
After the opening dance in the hall, the procession visits local dignitaries such as the mayor, priest or respected residents. In return for a donation to the carnival fund and light refreshments, an honorary dance is performed and a bouquet is presented. The procession concludes in the evening with a carnival dance open to all residents.
Jatšowne nałogi (Lower Sorbian) | Jutrowne nałožki (Upper Sorbian) | Easter customs
Many Easter customs originate from pre-Christian spring rituals (e.g. blessing of palms, springs and fire, and processions). Today, some are practised across regions (e.g. Easter singing, fetching Easter water, decorating Easter eggs), while others are region-specific (Easter fires in Lower Lusatia; Easter shooting and egg-rolling in Upper Lusatia; in Catholic areas, cross singing, clapper processions and Easter riding).
Jatšowne jaja (Lower Sorbian) | Jutrowne jeja (Upper Sorbian) | Easter eggs
> Brandenburg/Saxony
Traditionally, richly decorated eggs (in addition to gingerbread or Easter pastries) were given as Easter gifts to children, especially godchildren, and formerly also to servants, the priest, the sexton or the teacher, as well as a sign of affection among young people.
In some regions of Lusatia, it is still customary for children to collect their godparent gifts, usually on Maundy Thursday. Four different techniques are used for decorating: wax batik, scratching, etching, and, since the 1980s, embossing.
Walkowanje (Lower Sorbian/Upper Sorbian) | Egg Rolling
> Brandenburg/Saxony
This is a popular game, today mainly among children in Lower Lusatia and in the area around Slepo|Schleife. Hard-boiled, usually coloured eggs are rolled down a specially prepared track (“walka”) in gardens or village greens. An egg is considered defeated if it is struck by another.
In Budyšin | Bautzen, this developed into “egg pushing”, which associations expanded into a large public festival with a fair-like atmosphere at the end of the 19th century. Residents rolled eggs, apples or pastries down the slope of Hrodźišćo | Protschenberg to waiting children. The custom was banned in 1960 in the GDR but has been revived since 2001 and is again very popular, accompanied by a varied cultural programme, including Sorbian elements.
Klepotanje (Upper Sorbian) | Clapper Processions
> Saxony
After the liturgy on Maundy Thursday evening, church bells fall silent in the Catholic parts of Lusatia. In some villages, boys – and more recently also girls – walk through the village on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, morning, midday and evening, carrying wooden clappers and praying at shrines and crosses. The loud clapping calls the faithful to devotion and prayer.
Jutrowne třělenje (Upper Sorbian) | Easter Shooting
> Saxony
The making of loud noises during Easter night to drive away evil spirits was widespread, especially in the 19th century. Today, it is mainly practised in southern Upper Lusatia, using percussion caps, blank cartridges or carbide cannons.
Jatšowne spiwanje (Lower Sorbian) | Jutrowne spěwanje (Upper Sorbian) | Easter singing
> Brandenburg/Saxony
The singing of Passion hymns during Lent and resurrection hymns during Easter night was widespread among Protestant Sorbs until the 1950s and 1960s. The custom originated from girls’ singing groups formed in spinning rooms. Easter singing often began four weeks before Easter, continued throughout Lent, and concluded at sunrise on Easter Sunday with resurrection resurrection songs.
Since 1993, in the parish of Slepo | Schleife, women in traditional costume (“Kantorki”) have sung during Easter night. In Dešno | Dissen, the choir “Łužyca” has performed on Good Friday since 2001, and since 2011 young women in Janšojce | Jänschwalde have also participated in Easter night singing. In some villages of the parish Kulow | Wittichenau, young women continue to practise cross singing during Lent, grave singing on Good Friday, and resurrection singing at Easter.
Jatšowny wogeń (Lower Sorbian) | Jutrowny woheń (Upper Sorbian) | Easter fire
> Brandenburg, Saxony
On the night before Easter Sunday, Easter fires are lit at midnight in more than 120 villages in Lower Lusatia and in some places in central Lusatia. Traditionally, village youths engage in various pranks during the night. In Catholic communities, the Easter candle is often lit from the Easter fire, for example in front of the church.
Jatšowna wóda (Lower Sorbian) | Jutrowna woda (Upper Sorbian) | Easter water
> Brandenburg/Saxony
Easter water, regarded as newly renewed spring water, is believed to possess special powers. Girls and young women collect fresh spring water in silence before sunrise on Easter Sunday. If the silence is broken, the water is said to lose its effect and become “chatter water”. In the past, people washed themselves with it and sprinkled livestock with it.
Jatšowne rejtarje (Lower Sorbian) | Křižerjo (Upper Sorbian) | Easter riding
> Brandenburg/Saxony
Easter riding processions are the most significant Sorbian Catholic custom and attract many visitors each year. They are not only a tradition but also a public expression of faith. Although rooted in Catholic practice, Protestant men also take part.
Men dressed in formal black coats and top hats ride decorated horses. Singing hymns and praying, they process to neighbouring parishes to proclaim the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Palenje chódotow (Lower Sorbian) | Chodojtypalenje (Upper Sorbian) | Walpurgis Night Bonfires
> Brandenburg/Saxony
Spring custom on Walpurgis Night (30 April), during which a tall fire visible from afar is lit; widespread in Upper Lusatia, in Lower Lusatia in communities that do not build Easter fires. For this purpose, a "witch's pile" of dry wood and other combustible waste material is erected in a suitable location and guarded until the witch burning to prevent young people from neighbouring villages from lighting it prematurely. In some villages, a "witch" made of straw and old clothes is placed on top. Since 1995, the municipality of Göda in Saxony has been organising the Göda witch burning as a folk festival, the focus of which is the court hearing, a satirical indictment revised annually by the German-Sorbian Folk Theatre, and the burning of the large witch's pyre.
Meja (Lower Sorbian/Upper Sorbian) | Maypole
> Brandenburg, Saxony
Spring custom; on the eve of 1 May, young people erect the maypole – a long, debarked tree trunk with a birch tree decorated with colourful ribbons, sometimes also a Sorbian flag, attached to its highest point, entwined with garlands and decorated with a fir wreath with ribbons below the top. In some villages in the Catholic region, Marian songs are sung after the tree has been erected. In the weeks leading up to the throwing, the maypole is guarded by the young people to prevent it from being sawn down prematurely by the youth of neighbouring villages.
In Upper Lusatia, the traditional day for throwing the maypole is a Sunday. The focus is on the competition to determine the May King. Beforehand, the young people dance under the maypole. In
many places, the girls wear traditional costumes. As soon as the tree is dug up and falls, the boys run for the top. The first one is crowned May King and chooses his May Queen from among the girls. The couple leads the procession of young people through the village to the fairground or inn, where they open the dance. In Lower Lusatia, the maypole often stands until St John's Day, when it is felled and auctioned off.
Bože ćěło (Upper Sorbian) | Corpus Christi
> Saxony
On Corpus Christi (the Thursday ten days after Pentecost) and the following Sunday, processions take place in the Sorbian Catholic region.
The route to an outdoor altar is decorated with fresh grass and lined with birch trees. Churches and houses are adorned with flags, including those of the Vatican and Sorbian colours. Girls scatter flowers, and brass bands accompany the singing of hymns. Many participants wear traditional festive costumes.
Jańske rejtowanje (Lower Sorbian) | St John’s Riding
> Brandenburg
St John’s Riding is a summer custom associated with St John’s Day (24 June), formerly practised in several villages of Lower Lusatia and today preserved only in Kózłe|Casel. It is now organised by a dedicated heritage association rather than the village youth.
At its centre is the figure of “Jan” (John), represented by a young man decorated with cornflowers and greenery. Wearing a crown-like headpiece, he rides with other young men from the village inn to the festival ground, accompanied by a brass band. Young women in white dresses walk ahead, carrying a second crown.
After several ceremonial rides, spectators attempt to stop Jan and take flowers from him, which are considered lucky charms.
Žnjowne nałogi (Lower Sorbian) | Žnjenske nałožki (Upper Sorbian) | Harvest customs
Harvest customs include various traditional riding games. The “kokot” (cockerel) appears symbolically, for example as the name for the last sheaf, decorated with flowers and ribbons. Its removal from the field marked the completion of the harvest. Women made harvest wreaths and a harvest crown, which were presented at the manor to announce the end of the harvest. This was followed by celebrations and competitions, in which the “old cockerel” was symbolically – and formerly also actually – killed.
Kokot - Zabijanje kokota (Lower Sorbian) | Rooster fighting
> Brandenburg
An older form of harvest game, once widespread across Lusatia, is now practised only in a few villages of Lower Lusatia and in symbolic form.
In Smogorjow | Schmogrow, young men, blindfolded and holding flails, attempt to strike a pot under which the cockerel is hidden. Each participant has three attempts. The first to hit the pot becomes king and chooses a queen from among the young women in traditional dress. The cockerel is then released, recaptured and auctioned.
Kokot - Łapanje kokota (Lower Sorbian) | Rooster plucking
> Brandenburg
The most widespread form of the game. A dead rooster is tied upside down to the crossbar of a specially constructed gate entwined with foliage. The boys gallop through the gate one after the other and try to tear off the dead rooster's head. Whoever succeeds becomes the first king ("kral"); the lads who catch the wings become the second and third kings. They receive large victor's wreaths made of oak leaves. The harvest kings choose their partners blindfolded from among the girls who are dressed in traditional dance costumes to dance the lap of honour with them. The girls determine the harvest queen from among themselves in games of skill such as the frog cart, bachelor cart or egg race. She also receives an oak leaf wreath as a prize. At the end of the competitions, a festive procession makes its way to the inn for dancing. The harvest crown, decorated with colourful ribbons, is also carried in this procession.
Rejtowanje wó kołac (Lower Sorbian) | Stollen riding
> Brandenburg
Originally a Whitsun custom and part of wedding traditions, Stollen Riding is now preserved as a harvest custom in Nowa Niwa | Neu Zauche.
The celebration begins with a church service. In the afternoon, young men compete in horse races, riding unsaddled horses, while young women take part in skill-based games. The prizes include decorated cakes (stollen) of varying sizes.
Kolo rajtowanje (Upper Sorbian – Schleifer dialect) | Ring riding
> Saxony
In the parish of Schleife, riders competed to determine the harvest king by striking a small wreath suspended from a garland with a lance.
Today, a similar custom continues in Brězowka | Halbendorf, where riders attempt to spear a ring made of oak leaves at a gallop. The winner receives a trophy, and the youth perform a circular dance in traditional attire.
Kjarmuša (Lower Sorbian) | Kermuša (Upper Sorbian) | Kirmes
> Brandenburg/Saxony
Kirmes is celebrated annually in remembrance of the consecration of the church. In the past, it was the most important festival in rural society, usually lasting three days and offering opportunities for feasting, visiting relatives and dancing.
Today, it is still celebrated on Sundays between St Bartholomew’s Day (24 August) and St Catherine’s Day (25 November). Family visits and festive meals remain central, and many villages also host fairground rides and stalls.
Pśěza (Lower Sorbian) | Přaza (Upper Sorbian) | Spinte
> Brandenburg/Saxony
The spinning room was an important communal institution in village life. After the harvest, unmarried women gathered in the evenings to spin yarn for household linen.
During this work, songs were practised for weddings and funerals. The spinning community also organised youth festivals throughout the year and was therefore a key bearer of many customs until the early 20th century. Today, the tradition continues in adapted form as a social and cultural meeting place, supporting community life and the Sorbian language.
Gódowe nałogi (Lower Sorbian) | Hodowne nałožki (Upper Sorbian) | Advent and Christmas customs
Spěwanje na swjateho Měrćina (Upper Sorbian) | St. Martin’s singing
> Saxony
On St Martin’s Day (11 November), children in Catholic parts of Upper Lusatia go from house to house in small groups, singing traditional Sorbian verses and receiving sweets.
Borborka (Upper Sorbian) | Saint Barbara
> Saxony
On the eve of St Barbara’s Day (4 December), the figure of Borborka, dressed in a white bridal gown and accompanied by two “Ruprecht” figures, visits households with children and distributes fruit and sweets.
Swjaty Mikławš (Upper Sorbian) | Saint Nicholas
> Saxony
The custom of St Nicholas (6 December) is widespread across Germany. In some villages, St Nicholas, dressed as a bishop, visits homes and gives sweets to children. In many places, children leave their shoes out the night before to be filled. In some areas, children also go from house to house singing in return for treats.
Swjata Marija hospodu pyta (Upper Sorbian) | Saint Mary in search of shelter
> Saxony
In some Catholic villages, beginning on 15 December, a figure of the Virgin Mary (sometimes accompanied by Joseph) is passed from house to house, symbolising the biblical search for shelter.
The figure remains in each household for one night. Prayers and hymns accompany its arrival and stay. The final household keeps the figure until the following Advent.
Janšojski Bog (Lower Sorbian) | Bože dźěćetko (Upper Sorbian) | Christ Child
> Brandenburg/Saxony
In the Schleife region, the Christ Child visits families during Advent, accompanied by two assistants. It also visits schools and care homes.
Wearing festive attire inspired by bridal costume and a veil, it carries a bell and a decorated rod symbolising blessing. Without speaking, it gently touches the faces of those receiving gifts.
Nowolětka (Lower Sorbian/Upper Sorbian)
> Brandenburg, Saxony
At New Year and until Epiphany, shaped breads in the form of animals were baked and mixed into animal feed to ensure livestock health. They were also given as gifts to godchildren.
Today, the custom survives in adapted form, especially in schools, nurseries and museums, where such breads are made with visitors.
Woklapnica (Lower Sorbian) | Woklabnica (Upper Sorbian) | "Knocking"
> Brandenburg, Saxony
Around Epiphany (6 January), public village meetings are held to review the past year. Following a report by the mayor or village head, community matters are discussed. New residents traditionally contribute by offering a round of drinks. The custom declined in the mid-20th century but has seen renewed interest since the 1990s.
