Easter singing

Back in the 1950s, Easter singing was a popular pastime among Protestant Sorbs in many locations. The choir of girls and young women left the spinning room in orderly lines, singing religious songs as they walked through the village and around the local fields. They believed that circling the fields would protect them against evil and provide a good harvest. The Easter singing custom began four weeks before Easter, reached its climax on Good Friday and Easter Eve and came to an end in the afternoon on Easter Sunday. In and around Schleife, singing benches were erected in specific locations, where the young ladies could sit and sing. In the parish of Schleife, the “Kantorki” choir has been performing every Easter Eve since 1993, while the church in Diessen has been hosting the Lower Sorbian choir “Łužyca” every Good Friday since 2001.