Have you ever lost something that you know you had on hand just moments ago? Or noticed a light on that you had already turned off? Or perhaps a tried-and-true baking recipe flopped for no apparent reason? The Pennsylvania Dutch have a name for this domestic phenomenon: ‘s bucklich Mennli.
Among previous generations of the Pennsylvania Dutch, Fasnacht Day was not only a day for eating donuts and using up the remaining fats and sugar in preparation for Lent, but also a time for looking ahead to the coming growing season, and taking stock of your readiness for preparing the land.
The first of May is by no means an official holiday among the Pennsylvania Dutch, but a number of significant folk-cultural traditions took place on this day. As the midpoint between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice, May first coincided with the visible increase of daylight and the blossoming of the earth. It is therefore small wonder that the day was associated with fertility and the blossoming of youth.
