Stréimännchen / Stréifrächen
Stréimännchen / Stréifrächen
Our locals have their own, special traditions, including on Ash Wednesday, when they say goodbye to carnival and winter.
In a traditional and ancestral way, Ash Wednesday marks the end of the carnival time and the evil spirits of winter are driven away. In Remich, at the end of the cheerful, carefree carnival period, a pompous procession around a large straw doll takes place. This male straw doll, called “Stréimännchen” (straw man), is replaced by a straw woman, “Stréifrächen”, in leap years. At the end of the procession, the straw doll is tied to the railing at the Moselle bridge between Luxembourg and Germany and set on fire. The ashes are taken away by the Moselle floods. A sign that symbolically marks not only the end of the carnival, but also the end of the cold and dark winter season.
