The harvest begins around the 1st of August with the reaping of grain. It was a time when community members of all ages gathered in the fields to assist in any way they could. Tables were laid out on the fields, with the necessary amenities so they could go about their work with little delay. Once all the grain was either milled or safely stashed away by the Harvest Moon, the occasion was celebrated by feasting and the burning of straw dollies, similar to the wicker man practices of Britain. Offerings of thanks and the hope of fair weather to insure an unspoiled crop. A crown was woven of grains and herbs and raised on a pole to mark the occasion. In the course of these celebrations through September comes the Weinfest, and in October, the Bierfest.
Once all the harvesting is completed, livestock is then herded down out of the mountains in a procession called the “Albabtrieb”. This is where the cattle are decorated with cowbells and garlands, with the lead cow wearing a huge colourful wreath of Alproses. These are also times of village fetes to sell their domestic wares. These festivities usually centered around the Hunter's Moon, which was also the time of the traditional pheasant hunt conducted by the local squires.
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