defestival1-1, Exercise 1: Sorting festivals

Model answer (one possible set; check each):

1. Easter: Christian in origin, with seasonal elements (eggs, spring fires) whose age is debated. Fairly sure of the Christian core, less sure about the folk elements.
2. Christmas markets: Christian season, but the markets themselves are commercial and civic, with records going back to the late Middle Ages in some towns (see Chapter 2). Moderately sure.
3. Carnival: linked to the church year (the weeks before Lent) but largely a folk and civic festival, organised by clubs in the Rhineland since the 1800s (see Chapter 4). Moderately sure.
4. May Day tree: seasonal or folk custom, with a later overlay of 1 May as a labour day. Less sure about origins.
5. Oktoberfest: civic or invented, tied to a royal wedding in Munich in 1810 (see Chapter 7). Fairly sure.
6. German Unity Day, 3 October: civic, created in 1990. Very sure.

The point is to see that most festivals combine layers, and that the claim of ancient origin deserves a source.