208 CultureShock! Austria
a cuirassier’s helmet and a cloak over his striped tunic and
carrying a halberd. There are usually four helpers standing
by in case Samson’s bearer wavers and falls. Samson is
usually seen after church festivals or processions, when he
is taken from house to house to perform a dance before
guests of honour.
There are different versions of how this figure originated.
Some say Capuchin monks brought him in from Bavaria.
Others, that Samson is a relic of Baroque-style processions.
Yet others think the Celts used large figures for special
celebrations. Lungau people believe, however, that he was
built to frighten the raiding Turks.Herds and Harvests
The ritual driving down of herds of cattle happens on
15 September in the Schwarzenberg of the Bregenzerwald,
a mountainous area outside Bregenz, the capital of
Vorarlberg. The weather starts turning cold at about this
time, and the cattle are driven down from the Alps into the
warm valley. Tradition holds that to prevent demons and
ghouls from noticing the long trek up and down, the cattle
have to be ‘veiled’.
Today the cattle are decorated only on the way down
with beautiful headdresses of pine, fir twigs, ribbons and
flowers, to show joyful and thankful celebration for the safe
summer on the mountain. The townspeople give the cattle
and cowherd a warm welcome in the middle of the square,
and cowbells are then removed.
Harvest Thanksgiving, held between the end of September
and the end of October, is the anniversary of the dedication
of the local church. Although no actual harvest takes place,
traces of days of yore are represented in the procession to
the church. The women are usually in their local costume, the
children carry sheaves or a basket of fruit to be blessed by
the priest, and there is also the traditional harvest crown and
harvest garland. The festivities, which are similar throughout
Austria, include a street party with food, beer and wine stalls,
rides for children, farmers selling cheese and meat and toys
and clothes for sale.