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Description of  Serious Nonsense: Groundhog Lodges, Versammlinge, and Pennsylvania German Heritage (Keystone Books)

Versammlingecommunity events filled with songs, performances, speeches, and skits that celebrate Pennsylvania German heritage and cultureare held entirely in the Pennsylvania German Deitsch language. Some, the groundhog lodges, feature a ceremony honoring the groundhog, while others do not. These unique meetings, expressions of a distinctive ethnic identity in the context of a rapidly changing society, have become a traditional mainstay among Pennsylvania Germans who have worked to preserve their language and culture into the twenty-first century. Read more