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 very year at Easter time, after the first full moon of spring, 20,000 people come to the small town of Luegde in Germany to witness the mysteries of the Osterraeder. There, in the gathering gloom of twilight, on the hills overlooking the town, an obscure and dramatic old custom is re-enacted. One after another, six enormous oaken wood wheels filled with straw are set ablaze and pushed into motion down the steep slopes of the Osterberg towards the valley of the little River Emmer.
Osterraeder set aflame and released
Cannon fire announces the imminent release of each wheel, and the crowd falls silent in anticipation. As each wheel begins it chaotic journey towards the town below, a church bell rings, symbolizing the absorption of this pagan festival into the Christian calendar.
The drama of these fire-balls plunging down the hill into the darkness is unforgettable. Despite attempts to Christianize its meaning it remains an archetypal evocation of the rituals of spring; the triumph of the sun over the tyranny of winter.
Osterraeder descending into the valley
  
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