Sometimes it is only the souls of
these living vampires that join in the fight; the soul comes out through
the mouth in the form of a bluish flame, takes the shape of an animal,
and runs to the crossway. If the body meanwhile is moved from its place
the person dies, for the soul cannot find its way back.{24}
St. Andrew's Day is sometimes the last, sometimes the first important
festival of the western Church's year. It is regarded in parts of Germany
as the beginning of winter, as witness the saying:--
"Suenten-Dres-Misse,
es de Winter gewisse."[93]{25}
The nights are now almost at their longest, and as November passes away,
giving place to the last month of the year, Christmas is felt to be near
at hand.
In northern Bohemia it is customary for peasant girls to keep for
themselves all the yarn they spin on St. Andrew's Eve, and the _Hausfrau_
gives them also some flax and a little money. With this they buy coffee
and other refreshments for the lads who come to visit the parlours where
in the long winter evenings the women sit spinning. These evenings, when
many gather together in a brightly lighted room and sing songs and tell
stories while they spin, are cheerful enough, and spice is added by the
visits of the village lads, who in some places come to see the girls
home.
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