Passion Play - Oberammergau, Germany

This is an early real-photo postcard of a group of children in the Passion Play. Back in 1633, villagers in the Bavarian town of Oberammergau pledged to put on a passion play every ten years if they were delivered from war and the plague. The tradition has continued ever since and the actors are always local villagers, even though it has become a huge tourist attraction. About half of the villagers participate in one way or another in the production of the play, which follows Jesus from his arrival in Jerusalem to his death on the cross and his resurrection.

At some point, the timing of the play production changed, because they are no longer held in years that end with three. The last one was in 2000 and the next one will be in 2010 (May-October.) If you're interested in booking tickets or seeing a video of the 2000 performance, click here.  I didn't get far enough along on the link to see how much it costs, but it's probably a lot. As far as I can tell, you can't just book tickets; it looks like you have to book with a company and go with a group. In any case, Oberammergau is a beautiful place, just like the rest of Bavaria.

Birthday Greetings

This lovely birthday card was sent in 1909. The message reads:

This is to wish you a happy birthday. We received your cards yesterday. I am going to write soon. Momma is at Prospect. We are all well. Hope you are well by this time.

Dora

Stockholm, Sweden

I have a friend who is in Sweden right now, because his sister is receiving a Nobel Prize. How exciting! To celebrate, I am posting this card of Stockholm, which appears to show policemen or soldiers in a horse-drawn carriage.

My friend reports that Stockholm is a beautiful city. I'm sure it looks much different than it did in this picture from 1906.