Launching of Burning Disks

“Oh rhyme, rhyme, whose disc should this be?" This is the quaint Venosta Valley spoken melody as it occurs in the archaic ritual of launching burning discs known as Scheibenschlagen. Every first Sunday of Lent the traditional Scheibenschlagen takes place - Winter is thereby expelled and love and fertility poetically evoked in a fire ritual.

In order for Spring to show its blooming face, the demons of the cold and darkness must be expelled first. Wooden discs mounted on sticks are made to glow in an open fire. The red-hot slices are then sent flying off into the wide valley accompanied by rhyming chants and well-wishes. If the disc flew off easily and “flew well", then it will bring good luck. In the end, a witch made of straw, and a few meters tall, which symbolizes the Winter, is burned.

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