That is why St. Joseph's Day still plays a major role in the district
Created: 03/19/2022, 09:01
By: Volker Ufertinger
Tradition and fun: The former mayor of Geretsried, Hans Schmid, is an honorary member of the Geltinger local association of the Josef party.
The Josef books - here a duplicate, the original can be found in the city archive - document the life of the association.
© Hermsdorf-Hiss
Until 1969, March 19, i.e. St. Joseph's Day, was a public holiday in Bavaria.
It is still important to many today.
You don't have to be called Josef for that.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen
– March 19 is not a day like any other.
In Bavaria, Josefi is celebrated, even as a public holiday until 1969.
The name day of Saint Joseph, Jesus' foster father according to the Bible, used to be a big celebration: everything was a little more relaxed than usual, especially for the many men with this widespread name.
The usual program was: first church, then regulars' table.
This is still the case among farmers today – albeit not to the same extent.
If only because of the lack of economies, which are known to be becoming fewer and fewer.
The Joseph Party wants to reintroduce the holiday
Believe it or not, there is one party that is striving to reintroduce the holiday: it is the Josef Party based in Aichach.
The local association founded in Gelting in 1993 – the only one in the district – has around 40 members.
The former mayor of Geretsried, Hans Schmid, is an honorary member. After leaving office in 2004, he was forcibly made a member by a party delegation.
Read the latest news from Geretsried here.
His real name isn't Josef – his real first name is Johann Bartholomäus – but that wasn't a hindrance.
"They treated me like everyone else and gave me Josef as my middle name," he says with a smile.
As you can see, none of this is meant to be taken seriously.
Nevertheless, the association has a certain status: the city has had the Josef books, which document the life of the association, digitized and integrated into the archive.
Today is celebrated with a service followed by a drink in the Wolfratshauser Löwenbräu.
In Gelting there is no longer a traditional village economy.
The Josefibock is definitely one of them
Bock beer has always been part of the basic equipment of St.
Various strong beers used to be served in the district, but today the market leader is the "Josefibock" from the Reutberg monastery brewery.
Managing Director Stephan Höpfl explains the name – not “Triumphator”, “Salvator”, “Maximator” and so on – with the fact that March 19 “practically always falls during Lent”.
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In Reutberg, 1,000 hectoliters of the amber-colored drink are brewed every year, with 6.9 percent alcohol and 17.9 percent original wort, available in bottles and in barrels. "The beer tastes slightly malty, but not as fat as a Doppelbock," he says.
The beer will be delivered by the end of March – then the Weißbierbock will arrive.
And then at some point the Christmas goat.
"But the Josefibock is the strongest," says the managing director.
A Josefi service is celebrated in Münsing
St. Joseph's Day and Münsing - that's a special story.
“Previously, many people came from the surrounding villages, first to confession, then to the festival service.
Then they met with the relatives, where there was a feast day meal.
It was something like a little Kirta,” says Pastor Martin Kirchbichler.
Even today, Saint Joseph and his name day are of great importance.
Read the latest news from Münsing here.
The left side altar is dedicated to Jesus' foster father.
Yes, there is even a brotherhood of Joseph, i.e. a prayer community for his veneration.
For all these reasons, a service will be celebrated with all the congregations this Saturday at 9.45 a.m.
Pastor Kirchbichler explains historically why Josefi is so popular in Bavaria: Elector Ferdinand Maria declared him patron saint in 1664.
The priest regrets a little that the first name has gone out of fashion.
"In the last 20 years I have hardly baptized a Josef or a Josefa."
So many Josephs live in the cities
Thanks to the latest technology, it is relatively easy for the residents' registration and registry offices of the cities to determine how many Josefs currently live in the respective municipality.
In Bad Tölz there are 178, in Geretsried 124 (plus 7x Jozef) and in Wolfratshausen 327. Another number shows that the name is also declining here: between 1970 and 1989 41 boys were baptized with this first name, between 1990 and 2021 only 28 more. But that doesn't have to mean anything.
"Many old first names like Xaver are on the rise again," says Michael Nußbaumer from the Wolfratshausen town hall.
In principle, nothing stands in the way of a Joseph renaissance.
Speaking of the church: If it's Josefi today, shouldn't the patron saint of St. Josef der Arbeiter in Waldram be celebrated?
Exactly not.
"You have to distinguish between Joseph and St. Joseph the worker," explains parish council chairman Martin Melf.
While Joseph has been venerated as a member of the Holy Family since time immemorial, the commemoration of St. Joseph the worker - according to the Bible he was a carpenter by trade - is more recent.
Pope Pius XII
introduced it in 1955 to strengthen the Catholic workers' movement, with a clear thrust against communism.
It is not for nothing that the day of remembrance falls on May 1st.
It is fitting that the Waldram church was given this name: in the mid-1950s, when the Catholic Settlement Agency took over the former Föhrenwald camp, many Catholic workers with many children came to Waldram.
I had no idea what an interesting first name I had.
Sepp Maier, goalkeeper of FC Bayern Munich, during a visit to Glentleiten
Anyone who is still not sure what to do with today's Saturday can drive to the Glentleiten open-air museum in Großweil, which always opens on Josefi (March 19) and closes on Martini (November 11).
"We've been doing it this way since we put on an exhibition on the name of Josef in 2008, the brochure for it is still available," says Glentleiten boss Dr.
Monika Kania-Schütz.
At that time, the legendary Bayern goalkeeper Sepp Maier was also a guest, who explained in view of the cultural-historical reappraisal: "I had no idea what an interesting name I had there." To celebrate the day, District President Josef Mederer, a brewer by trade, brewed their own Josefibock in the Glentleiten brewhouse, which you can buy on that day.
"The visitors will like it," he promises.
That's the way it should be with Josefi.
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