At the turn of the year the carol singers move about. The girls and boys bring blessings for the New Year. The “C M B” is the abbreviated Latin formula for “Christ bless this house”. Because of Corona, the custom was only possible to a limited extent for two years.
Aachen (dpa / lnw) – This year the carol singers are moving from house to house again and collecting donations. After two years in the corona pandemic, the custom is possible again without restrictions, explained the children’s missionary work “Die Sternsinger” in Aachen.
Boys and girls dressed up as kings collect donations and bring the blessing “C M B” to house doors for the new year. This stands for “Christus mansionem benedicat” (Christ bless this house). The donations are used for children’s projects all over the world. The Kindermissionswerk is the children’s charity of the Catholic Church in Germany.
In the most recent campaign at the beginning of 2022, 38.6 million euros were collected. The forthcoming solidarity action is called “Strengthening children, protecting children – in Indonesia and worldwide”. The nationwide opening of the 65th Dreikönigssingen campaign is on December 30th in Frankfurt on the Römerberg with Georg Bätzing, the Bishop of Limburg and chairman of the German Bishops’ Conference.
Around 300,000 boys and girls in 10,000 Catholic parishes take part nationwide. After restrictions due to the corona pandemic, it is not certain how large the participation will be, said a spokesman in Aachen. “We have the impression that things are going well.”
At the beginning of January there are carol singers in Berlin. On January 5th they will visit Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), one day later the Federal President. On January 11, the boys and girls will be guests at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Based on the three wise men from the Bible, the carol singers wear golden crowns and a colorful cape. As Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, they go to the front doors in groups with a large star, which symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem. The carol singing has been an intangible world cultural heritage of the UN cultural organization Unesco since 2015.
