Polterabend loan-word

Often guests will bring their gifts to the Polterabend.

The origin of the Polterabend is not precisely known.

There is also a separate event that the couple celebrates together on the evening prior to their wedding, called Polterabend.

At the Polterabend the guests break old porcelain and earthenware to bring luck to the couple's marriage.

The Paube is less raucous than the Polterabend.

Polterabend is a German wedding custom in which on the night before the wedding the guests break porcelain to bring luck to the couple's marriage.

Ein Polterabend is an East German film.

In this case, the wedding is combined with the Polterabend, and the smashing occurs in conjunction with the wedding reception.

The word "Polterabend" comes from German verb poltern (making a lot of noise) + noun Abend (evening).

The Polterabend normally takes place in front of the house of the bride (or that of her parents), although exceptions are made for space considerations, for example.

The Polterabend is most often celebrated on the Friday evening before the church ceremony, even in some regions on the Thursday or Saturday evening before.

In Bavaria, as well as in Austria and Switzerland, bride and groom get separate bachelor/ette parties rather than a Polterabend.

The Polterabend is commonly celebrated in the western parts of Poland - especially in Wielkopolska, Silesia, Kashubia, Kujawy and Kociewie, where there used to be significant German cultural influences.

In 1838, Schumann told Clara that the Dances contained "many wedding thoughts" and that "the story is an entire Polterabend (German wedding eve party, during which old crockery is smashed to bring good luck)."

It is possible that the Polterabend has a psychological motive: suitors who may have wished to have this bride for themselves have the opportunity to "let the steam out" in a socially appropriate manner, so that peace in the village could better be maintained.

At a Polterabend, the couple celebrates together with their friends, breaking porcelain to good luck in their new companionship, according to the superstition, whereas at a bachelor party the bride and the groom go out separately with their friends to celebrate the last day of their so called freedom.

If the Polterabend occurs on the eve of the wedding, the couple is permitted to leave the celebration early (i.e. around midnight), so as to be fresh and without a hangover the next morning - the Polterabend is traditionally celebrated with more gusto and frolicking than the actual wedding festivities.