Hollekreisch Ceremony
Today, many Jewish parents are looking for new ways to mark the birth of
a baby girl. In the quest to find a pertinent ritual, parents are reexamining
old practices that might have elements that could be incorporated into a more
modern ceremony. One such ceremony was documented in the thirteenth century by
Simcha of Vitry and is called the Hollekreisch.
The Hollekreisch ceremony was the custom in South German and Swiss
Jewish communities and was influenced in large measure by German folk
practices. At about the age of thirty days, the baby would be brought to the
synagogue by her mother. The congregants would welcome the baby with song and
the father of the child was called up to the podium to read from the Torah
scroll.
All the Children Call, "Holle,
Holle, What Shall Be This Child's Name?"
At the end of services, congregants would follow the family of the new
baby to their home. The baby would be placed in her decorated cradle and all
the children would lift the cradle three times calling, "Holle, holle,
what shall be this child's name?"
After the Calling Out of the Secular Name, the Children Received Sweets
The children then called out the baby's secular name. The custom was for
a Jewish child to have a Hebrew name, for ceremonial purposes, as well as a
secular name for everyday use. After the calling out of the secular name, the
children received sweets from the baby girl's parents. The practice was also in
use for boys, but less so, since boys already had several ceremonies
surrounding their births, such as ritual circumcision; the Brit Milah, Shalom
Zachor; a gathering of friends the first Sabbath eve after the baby's birth,
and sometimes the Pidyon HaBen; the Redemption of the Firstborn.
Scholars are unsure of the origins of the name of this ceremony. Some
suggest that the ceremony has its roots in German folk legend in which a
mythical figure, Holle, threatens infants. Another German folk myth describes a
Frau Holle, who is a goddess responsible for bringing children down to earth.
The name of the ceremony evokes a simpler explanation as well and may be
thought of as a combination of two words: the Yiddish "Chol" meaning
secular and referring the secular name of the baby, and the German word
"Kreischen" meaning 'to shout,' which refers to the calling out of
the baby's secular name.
There are documented cases of the Hollekreisch ceremony in the city of Strasbourg, until the 1950's, though the ceremony was mainly used by Jews located in
rural areas.
