LL-L "Holidays" 2003.11.01 (03) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 01.NOV.2003 (03) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Luc Hellinckx <luc.hellinckx at pandora.be>
Subject: Holidays

Hi Ron,

No doubt that your intentions were heartfelt, but when mentioning All Saints
you were wishing us a "happy" All Saints' Day...triggered my mind...is there
a Lowlands community then where people may feel "happy" when thinking about
the dead? I know that ghosts (of deceased people) play a very active role in
Chinese society for example, but even there I doubt whether the dominating
atmosphere is one of "happiness". Isn't it so that ghosts are usually
associated with haunting? Or are some ghosts believed to bring luck?

Greetings,

Luc Hellinckx

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Holidays

Good point, Luc.  This was a mistake on my part, may have been a Freudian
slip.  I apologize if it offended anyone.

Let me just say that, having arrived at a certain juncture in life, I have
been endeavoring to get to a place in which death and bereavement, no more
real than anytime before, are not entirely negative matters.  Also, I had in
the back of my mind El Día de los Muertos (to be celebrated tomorrow), the
Mexican Day of the Dead, a largely happy, joyous holiday widely celebrated
in the United States as well.  In Mexican communities it involves
recommuning with the departed, partly by holiding picnics and parties in
graveyards and using decorations that to outsiders may seem macabre.  Such
holidays are happy occasions in many parts of the world, also in certain
parts of Europe.  So, may you all be happy despite your losses on these days
commemorating the dead!

By the way, at first reading or listening, many traditional Lowlands Saxon
(Low German) ghost tales, such as those in Wisser's collection, do not sound
particularly scary.  I think this is due to their plain, almost
matter-of-fact wording.  They tend to feel creepier when you think about
them afterwards and fill in the blanks in your mind.  Perhaps I will manage
to post one or two of them with translations before next Halloween.

Best regards,
Reinhard/Ron

***

   生死

   欲識生死譬
   且將冰比水
   水結即成冰
   冰消返成水
   已死必應生
   出生還復死
   冰水不相傷
   生死還雙美

           寒山

***

   Läven un Dood

   Kennt Ji Lieknissen för Läven un Dood?
   Vergliekt wi jüm maal mit Water un Ies!
   Water wardt Ies, wenn dat Fastheit kriggt.
   Ies wardt wedder Water, wenn dat smöltt.
   Allens, wat dood blifft, mutt wedder Läven finnen.
   Allens, wat Läven kriggt, mutt trügg na d'n Dood.
   Water un Ies doot enanner nich schaden.
   Läven un Dood sünd lieksterwelt schöön.

             Han Schan (7/8.. Jh. A.D.)

***

   Leven un dood

   Kent Jy lyknissen vör leven un dood?
   Verglykt wy jüm maal mit water un ys!
   Water wardt ys, wen dat vasthayt krigt.
   Ys wardt wedder water, wen dat smöltt.
   Allens, wat dood blivt, mutt wedder leven vinden.
   Allens, wat leven krigt, mutt trüg na d'n dood.
   Water un ys dout eynanner nich schaden.
   Leven un dood sünd lyksterwelt schöyn.

             Han Schan (7/8.. jh. A.D.)

   Leben und Tod

   Kennt Ihr Gleichnisse für Leben und Tod?
   Vergleichen wir sie mal mit Wasser und Eis!
   Wasser wird Eis, indem es fest wird.
   Eis wird wieder Wasser, indem es schmilzt.
   Alles, das stirbt, muss wieder zum Leben.
   Alles, das Leben fand, muss zum Tode zurück.
   Wasser und Eis sind einander nicht schädlich.
   Leben und Tod sind gleichsam schön.

             Han Schan (7/8.. Jh. A.D.)

***

   Life and Death

   Can you think of similes for life and death?
   All right, let's compare them to water and ice!
   Water solidifies and thus turns to ice.
   Ice turns back into water when it melts.
   All that dies must in time come to life.
   All that lives must in turn return to death.
   Water and ice do each other no harm.
   Life and death are equally nice.

             Han Shan (7/8th cent. C.E.)

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