Cover of Brochure
Fifteenth Annual
Kirmess and Fall Festival
LBA Section 8
July 23, 1944
De : VailCorp@aol.com [mailto:VailCorp@aol.com]
Envoyé : 3 avril 2008 14:24
À : jkirchens@gmail.com; jkirchens@sbcglobal.net
Cc : goelffm@pt.lu; kirboats@earthlink.net; fernp@pt.lu; VailCorp@aol.com
Objet : Re: Schueberfouer, Schuebermess, Kirmess, Kiermes, Kiirmes
Moien/Good Morning:
Further to Fernand's explanations:
1/ The word Kirmess/Kiermess is of Flamish origin from Kerk = Church and Messe = Mass (as found in the English words Christmas and Candlemas).
2/ In Luxembourg the Kirmess celebrates the local church's patron saint and is held on the Sunday closest to the patron saint's day feast.
Traditionally larger villages/towns in Luxembourg celebrated 2 Kirmess(es) a year, one honoring the main patron saint and one for the secondary patron saint (any excuse to celebrate is a good one!). The main patron saint's Kirmess would be referred to as grouss Kirmess (large Kirmess) and would last 2 weeks (2 Sundays - First Sunday = Kirmess; second Sunday = Nokirmess) and the other one would be the kleng Kirmess (small Kirmess) and last one week (1 Sunday).
3/ Immigrants from Luxembourg brought the Kirmess tradition to the United States. At the turn of the 1900 century people from the same village used to celebrate the Kirmess together. In Chicago, besides the Grosbouser Kirmess there was also a Bourscheider Kirmess (Bourscheid is a village in Luxembourg) and an Ettelbrecker Kirmess (Ettelbruck is a village in Luxembourg).
4/ The Luxembourg Brotherhood of America (LBA), Section No 8 of Evanston, Illinois has hosted a Kirmess and Fall Festival for all LBA members (regardless from which village) for many decades. Today, it is still an annual opportunity for LBA members in the Chicago area to get together over dinner (Sauerbraten or some other European fare).
Cover of Brochure
Fifteenth Annual
Kirmess and Fall Festival
LBA Section 8
July 23, 1944
Fausto Gardini
Board Member, Luxembourg American Cultural Society, Inc.
www.luxamculturalsociety.org
De : Fern Pletschette [mailto:fernp@pt.lu]
Envoyé : 3 avril 2008 00:21
À : 'joseph kirchens'; 'Jennifer Kirchens'
Cc : 'Marc Goelff'; 'Fausto Gardini'; 'Harry E. Kirby'
Objet : Schueberfouer, Schuebermess, Kirmess, Kiermes, Kiirmes
From our todays Skype conversation I found out that the Kiermes
Expression was not really understood. Here I try to clarify.
Grosbusser – means from the town of Grosbous
Kirmess – Church festivity in a village,
(Today we spell Kirmess either: Kiermes or Kiirmes!)
where every family invited all close family members.
The Kiermes of the church in Grosbous is on Whitsunday
7 weeks after Easter.
The one in Dellen first WE in November.
Up until 40 years ago the Kiermes was a festivity
Of every family in a village, w/o exceptions.
It lasted 2 or 3 days! And the following WE was called
Nokiermes (Sunday following the Kiermes Sunday.
When I was a kid the whole family was invited on Sunday
and the close family, or the brothers of my father who
went on Sunday to my uncle came on Monday or the
following Sunday to us.
For the Kiermes, in a village people came with shops
On wheels to sell the kids choclate, etc. and other
games got set up to play for kids and family.
Today thi tradition diminished as the kids get chocolate
etc all year round this has diminished and is only
available for bigger cities.
Now a days when several festivities in a village
take place, the Kiermes looses of importance
For the Kiermes in Luxembourg City was the biggest
Kiermes in our country and called Schueberfouer
like the booklet out of which that picture came from.
The spelling: Schueberfouer, Schuebermess, and similar
Spelling are all the same, for the Kiermes in LU city.
http://www.fouer.lu/ is the Internet page of the Kiermes
of Lux city.
The 668. Schueberfouer is going to be held from
August 22 to September 10 2008.
I find it neet dat they have a Schuebermess tradition
In Chicago and even better a “Groussbusser Kiermes”
on 6012 Ridge Avenue
44th Annual Schobermesse Program of 1947.
The difference of Schueberfouer & Schuebermess is most
likely that Mess comes from the German Messe (fair)
and that
after WWII the word LU word Fouer was used.
As the Kiermes is such a tradition of several hundred years, we said that we want to offer you a typical Kiermes Menu in Burden, for you to participate in a tradition your Pa experienced for sure here in LU.
You might remember that in Burden I tried to explain this, and Jos Sauber a colleague & priest from Ettelbruck helped me a little. Here in LU this is such a tradition that we don’t think about anymore.
What I still cannot understand is on whether Fausto is not kidding with us, the fact that after we presented you a Kiermes menu, he sends us a photo of the “Grousbusser Kiermes” in Chicago in 1910 at 6012 Ridge Avenue. In case somebody would tell us that he played a photoshop game with us, I would accept it.
Fausto, have you had a dream on the Groussbusser Kiermes and put together this page, or is it really out of a booklet. If it was out of a booklet how did it happen that you send it to us one week after the visit from the Kirchens in Grosbous, where we presented them a Kiermes lunch!
Be aware the Pierre Kirchens is the uncle of Joseph Kirchens!
In case somebody tells me that I was dreaming I would accept it.
NB:
Greetings and all good wishes from Grosbous!
Mat beschte Gréiss
Fernand
_________________________________________________________
Fernand Pletschette : +352 888 039
15, rue d'Arlon Mobile Phone: +352 621 272 577
L-9155 GROSBOUS Skype ID: fernplet
(Gr. D. of Luxembourg, Europe)______ fernp@pt.lu
www.maesch.com -- www.grosbous.lu -- www.pletschette.net
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