PINKSTER AT HISTORIC NEW BRIDGE LANDING
Spring is sprung! Come dance around the Maypole! On Sunday, May 20th, from 1 to 4 PM, visitors to Historic New Bridge Landing, 1201 Main Street, River Edge are invited to imagine they are back in a time when winter meant months of deep cold and isolation, dispelled only by the heat of firewood burning on the hearth. And then to imagine that—at last—spring has come… Such is the essence of “Pinkster,” a springtime festival, which the Jersey Dutch and their descendants celebrated and which will be brought back to life for your enjoyment. The historic Campbell-Christie and Demarest Houses, built of the native red sandstone, will be open for visitors to explore, as volunteers in Colonial-era garb demonstrate the “latest” dance steps. 18th century sutlers will be selling their wares. There will be games and activities for children. Rodger Yaden, a Bergen County actor, and friends will present dramatic scenes or amateur theatricals. Refreshments will be served. The public is most welcome. Suggested donation: $5 adults; $3 children; BCHS members free.
For further info, call 201-343-9492 or visit our BCHS website at
www.bergencountyhistory.org/The Jersey Dutch joyously celebrated Pentecost as Pinkster, a holiday marking the budding of trees, the flowering of shrubs and feasting upon the first harvest of spring grains. In farming communities, a May-tree or pole was set in the ground and decorated with nosegays woven from wildflowers. A sporting contest, usually involving foot or horse races, determined who would be crowned as a figurative bride and groom, the May Queen and King. This flower-crowned couple led merry-makers in a procession, going door-to-door and gathering dyed eggs, butter, bread, cream, coffee, sugar, and tallow candles in their baskets. Food collected in these spring baskets furnished the table of the communal Pinkster supper, actually a mock wedding feast, complete with ring dances. Toasts with buttermilk (“white wine”), singing, amateur theater performances and poetry recitals (the Pinkster Ode) rounded out the celebration.
