At the Holy Spirit's festival of Whitsuntide in the Bavarian diocese of Eichstatt, a carved wooden dove of the Spirit was lowered down on the congregation through a hole in the church roof vaulting (this hole was a common extra architectural amenity in large German churches); the dove was closely followed by bucketfuls of water, and the member of the congregation most thoroughly soaked became the town's Pfingstvogel (Whitsun bird) for the coming year.
The Reformation, A History by Diarmuid MacCulloch
Thursday, November 11, 2004
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