Origin of the Rauhnächte & The Devil’s Tealight Holder

This is the first video in a series about the Rauhnächte, those nights “between years”, i.e. around new year. Where I live, these nights were said to have special properties. Learn what they were, and how to score a lump of gold from the devil (but don’t get your hopes up) in this video. Enjoy, and remember to be Inspired!

Cold and Alone

To understand the origins of the Rauhnacht, you have to know where it came from. The winter in the Bavarian Forest and the surrounding regions is rather long and usually rich in snow. At the same time the region is sparsely populates, and there were remove farms even in forbidding places.

And possibly due to the hardships of life un that region, the population was deeply religeous. After all, you sought help wherever possible, and thus the christian faith was deeply rootet. Including the believe that the devil was real and trying to lure people into his grasp, or outright attack them.

In the cold of winter, settlements grew further apart. Visiting a neighbour, let alone the next village, turned into a lengthy journes that was actually dangerous considering the cold. Thus, strange shadows and breaking of branches quickly turned into the devil and his minions, who were plotting to waylay a traveller and steal their soul.

More than Gold from the Devil

There are many stories about the Devil in relation to the Rauhnacht. The fire he lights, and the coals that will turn to gold – if you can escape unscathed – is just one of them.

According to another one, you can enlist the devil’s help in learning the future. All you need to do is to take out the wheelbarrow at midnight during a Rauhnacht and push it around the farm three times. It will grow heavier with every round – which is not much of a surprise, considering snow, cold and the size of the farm buildings.

But when you finish the third round, the devil himself will be sitting in the wheelbarrow, and reveal the future to you. Or maybe he will at least be willing to make a deal about it. The question is how safe such a deal would be. And whether it is worth being seen trying, to become the laughing stock of the family because you believed such a story.

Thanks for stopping by. Check out the other videos of the Rauhnacht series and let me know what you think.

And as always, remember to be Inspired!