Friday, December 3, 2021

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Grand Tattoo


   No, it is not what you think it is! It is a military ceremony signifying the end of the day or in her case, the conclusion of her term in office. The term comes from the Dutch phrase for turning off the tap; drummers beat the command to innkeepers to turn off the taps on the beer kegs so soldiers could return to the barracks for the night.


   Angela Merkel's time in office is merely days shorter than that of Helmut Kohl's. She is unassuming, modest, but steady and earned respect and admiration from other political parties. 

   I hope non-German viewers do not shudder at the military nature of this. There really is no need to do so;  I will leave it at that.

   Her choice of music is interesting. Nina Hagen is a former East German singer whose song subtly criticized the drabness of that society. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko1IBe4qh1A

  Hilfegard Knef was a famous chanteuse and actor.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_K_w1Yb5Yk

    Merkel's father was a Lutheran pastor who moved to a parish in the East before the Berlin Wall and the inner-German border were constructed. "Grosser Gott, wir loben dich (Holy God, we Bless Your Name)is a paraphrase of the "Te Deum", the 4th Century hymn of thanksgiving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yLZnM2KFkY

Finally, the ceremony itself...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yi0MwOAhEtE 

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