An Osterfeuer is a bonfire that is lit on the evening of Easter Saturday, usually in connection with a Church service.

Different parts of Germany associate the fire with different traditions.  In Bavaria it is also called the Judasfeuer and a straw figure, similar to a guy, is burnt upon the fire representing Judas Iscariot.  In Westfalia it is said to banish the winter.

Some churches have a candle-light service on Saturday evening rather than a fire.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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Tags: church, Easter, Feuer, Fire, Gottesdienst, Ostern

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2009 at 8:10 pm and is filed under Easter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.