During Christmas, a time of reunion for Germans, besides the cheery Santa Claus, you can also spot his intimidating sidekick, Knecht Ruprechtw. Simon, who has been in Taiwan for a year, says, "It's like good cop/bad cop." But make no mistake. Although sinister in appearance, Knecht Ruprechtw is not really a bad guy. It is said that he is an important helper for Santa Claus. Dressed in a black robe, Knecht Ruprechtw clutches a long broom in his hand and has a sack slung over his shoulder. He beats naughty kids, puts them in his sack, and then brings them back to the black forest or tosses them into the river, while Santa Claus rewards well-behaved children with candy or treats. Simon recalls one time when he had been misbehaving and his mother put a little stick, a symbol of Knecht Ruprechtw's broom, in his socks to warn him to behave himself or else Knecht Ruprechtw would come and beat him up. "And it works. Really!" he says and smiles.
在德國闔家團圓的聖誕節,除了有慈眉善目的聖誕老公公,他身旁還可以看到一位幫手Knecht Ruprechtw。來台灣一年多,目前在台北學中文的畢思蒙說:「他們兩個,一個扮白臉、一個扮黑臉。」別誤會,看起來凶神惡煞可不是壞人,傳說他是聖誕老公公的幫手,身穿黑袍,手拿掃帚,背掛布袋,當聖誕老公公給好孩子糖果或禮物,他就賞壞孩子幾棍,綁進背後的袋子裡,帶回黑森林或丟進河裡。他回憶,有一次小時候太頑皮,媽媽在他的襪子裡放小樹枝(象徵牛頭公公的掃棍)當作警告,說如果他不乖,牛頭公公就會來打他屁股,畢思蒙笑說:「這招還滿有效的。」
In Germany, the holiday goes all the way from Christmas to New Years, during which there are two things that a German must do: watch the British TV schetch Dinner for One on New Year's Eve and play Bleigi?en.
PHOTO: CHENG HSIANG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
德國團圓假期一路從聖誕節延燒到新年,這時舉家必做兩件事:除夕夜收看英國人演出的「一個人的晚餐」和玩Bleigi?en。
The ten-minute-long Dinner for One has been rebroadcast on New Year's Eve over 230 times over the past 40 years. "It's just really silly and funny. You can never get tired of it," says Simon. The story is about a 90-year-old lady, Sophie, who wants to invite her good friends over for her birthday, but doesn't realize that all her friends have passed away. To please Miss Sophie, the poor old butler, James, has to play all her friends one after the other having dinner and drinking wine with her, while at the same time preparing the meals as he keeps tripping over a tiger-skin rug. As the night goes on, James gets drunk, begins to lose consciousness and starts to mumble to himself; bumbling as he is, he still has to prepare Sophie for bed. Although the plot is quite simple, this black-and-white sketch, filmed in 1963, has become an indispensable source of laughter for the reputedly solemn German people during this time of reunion.
「一個人的晚餐」,總長十分多鐘,每年都會在除夕重播,四十餘年來已被重複播放超過兩百三十次,畢思蒙說:「戲有點笨可是很逗趣,百看不厭。」影片主要情節是一位高齡九十的蘇菲太太過生日,想邀請她的好友們到家裡用餐,不過由她不知好友們早已逝世,可憐的老管家詹姆士為了取悅主子,除了準備餐點,只好一人分飾多角假扮蘇菲的好友,與她進餐飲酒。全劇只見老管家一直被虎皮地毯絆倒,愈喝愈醉,上酒的步伐愈來愈顛簸,說話也語無倫次,還得伺候蘇菲太太就寢。儘管劇情簡單,這部一九六三年錄製的黑白喜劇小品卻是平素嚴肅的日耳曼民族跨年時不可或缺的開心果。
PHOTO: CHENG HSIANG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
Another holiday ritual is playing Bleigi?en (lead founding), a game to predict your luck in the next year. First players light a candle, put a piece of lead (although tin is a common substitute) on a metal spoon and melt it over the candle. Then they pour the liquified lead into a bowl of cool water. The lead will quickly solidify into a strange shape. Players use a gut feeling to judge the results and then check what the meaning of the shape is. For example, a butterfly means unstable fortune; a deer antler signifies frustration in love; a fish foretells good fortune when gambling; a pig indicates you won't go hungry, etc.
玩Bleigi?en也是新年例行公事之一。它是一種預測新年運氣的遊戲,把鉛(或錫)放進湯匙以燭火燒融,融化後丟進水裡,冷卻凝固後,映著燭火,以第一直覺判影子的形狀,每個形狀都代表著不同的運氣,例如蝴蝶代表時運不穩;鹿角代表為愛消沉;魚表示賭運佳;豬表示不會挨餓...等等。
But even if that goes badly for you, there's still a way to have a hand in shaping your luck in the New Year.
"In the old days in Germany, a blocked chimney was considered bad luck because you couldn't cook or warm the house. After fixing it, chimney sweeps traditionally brought the bill at the New Year. So it's considered good luck if you shake hands with them or even just touch the buttons of their clothes at the New Year," adds Simon.
不過,如果你手氣不佳,你還是有機會在明年的運勢為自己扳回一城。此外,畢思蒙說:「從前煙囪阻塞,不能開火取暖會被視為一種惡兆,而來清理煙囪的工人通常會在新年送上帳單,所以我們相信,若能在新年和清理煙囪工人握手或碰他衣服的鈕扣,能為自己新年帶來好運。」
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