European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Spring Heidelberg jumps the gun weekend photographs on sunday morning March 7, approximately twelve thousand Heidelberg children marched through the City streets to Welcome Spring and summer. They were following a custom which had originated As far Back As the seventeenth Century when old countess Lieselotte von Der Pfalz chose the fourth sundays Lent to annually distribute new shoes and sweets to the children of the town. Through the centuries the countess has been for gotten and the Day has come to Mark in the Neckar Valley the arrival of the Spring season. Today children Parade through the City singing the traditional song about their new shoes and brandishing Long Sticks gaily decorated with paper streamers pretzels coloured eggs and apples. This year s Parade began in Karls Platz with the burning in effigy of Winter. Two boys costumed As Winter in a Tepee of Hay and summer in a Tepee of Green leaves fought summer emerging victorious. Then summer locked up Winter with two giant keys and the Parade began. Two hours later tired children disbanded in University Square ate their pretzels and apples. American children like the germans made Hun Gry by the marching ate pretzels at Parade s end. Hay Wagon loaded with children inches along the three mile Parade route in Karls Platz children with festooned Spring Sticks waited anxiously for the Parade to begin. Tepee of Hay and Green leaves representing Winter left and summer paraded Side by Side. Twelve thousand children marched through the streets of Heidelberg in Sommers Abzug Parade. Weekend March 20,1