Overview

• The Maibaum tradition, rooted in Baroque-era records and possibly linked to Celtic fertility rituals, involves raising decorated fir trees to celebrate spring and community.
• Preparations include felling, peeling, and painting 20–30 meter firs, with local groups organizing night watches to prevent playful theft by neighboring villages.
• Festivities on May 1 will feature traditional Bavarian elements like Tracht, Blasmusik, dances, and food, with events planned in towns across Germany, from Holzkirchen to the Zugspitze region.
• Smaller Maibäume, often used as love tokens, are in high demand in the Rheinland, with organizations like Landesbetrieb Wald und Holz offering them for sale while warning against illegal tree felling.
• Special Maibaum installations include Germany’s highest tree on the Zugspitze and a symbolic tree in Brussels, highlighting the tradition’s adaptability and wide reach.