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German Horse Blessing Ceremony Proves Old Traditions Die Hard

Some traditions really do outlast all their practical social use. Welcome to the German town of Spalt, where many of the locals have horses. They all gather on their steeds on Saint Stephen's Day, which takes place on the day after Christmas according to the Catholic calender, knock back a few shots of hard liquor before riding to the local priest to have their ponies blessed. Actually, there were two Saint Stephens in Catholic tradition. One was stoned to death in the early days of the Christian church while the other was a missionary to Sweden who was killed by pagans. The Swedish Saint Stephen loved animals, and particularly horses, so that's why he is considered their patron saint. People who own horses take them to be blessed by the priest before feeding them consecrated oats, which was thought to ensure good health for the coming year. Actually, it was customary to race horses on Saint Stephen's Day, and some horse owners in Munich even rode their horses into church! Many of the former traditions have died out because people have cars now, but the blessing of the horses on Saint Stephens Day continues in rural areas of central Europe.