Culture shared between generations at annual Harmony market
HARMONY — Heritage and the sharing of traditions of German culture were consistent themes of this year’s Weihnachtsmarkt, the German Christmas market that takes over the borough every November.
The dance group that performs there each year, Alpen Schuhplattler, featured several generations of Ruggieros, the family that founded the group in 1964; and even the event organizers with Historic Harmony got their younger family members involved.
Kathy Luek, president of Historic Harmony, said prior to the Nov. 8 and 9 event that she was preparing a meal of German potato salad, red cabbage, sauerkraut soup, bratwurst and spaetzle alongside her granddaughter. Marina Ruggiero, the daughter of the founders of Alpen Schuhplattler, was performing alongside many of her family members, including her daughter and grandchildren.
Both women said they want to pass down knowledge of German culture to younger people to help keep it alive in the U.S.
“My parents were both from Germany,” Ruggiero said. “We perform here to keep the momentum going, keep the dance alive, because you know how things die out.”
The Weihnachtsmarkt is one of the Harmony Museum’s biggest annual fundraisers, and Luek said it would draw thousands of people to the borough over the weekend this year. Through admission fees and selling food, the market helps the museum maintain the nine properties it owns. Many of these buildings, like the Ziegler Log House, the Weavers Cabin and the Visitor Center, were open Saturday for visitors to tour.
But Luek said many people simply attend the market to shop at the vendors who crowd the street and the areas around the museum.
“It's a really unique mix of people,” Luek said of the market’s vendors. “Over 70 vendors, artisans that are juried crafts... Really all handmade things, not bought.”
But even the most single-minded shoppers did not leave the market on Saturday without a little taste of German culture. The performances by Alpen Schuhplattler and the Teutonia Mannerchor and Teutonia Damenchor echoed over speakers from the center of the market, which got many people clapping along as they waited to buy mulled wine or pretzels.
Nancy Ott, the president of Alpen Schuhplattler, said the dance group typically gets a good response from crowds because of how upbeat the accordion music sounds. Even though the dancers performed choreographed moves on the floor that involved specific steps and turns, anyone in the crowd could clap or groove along to the beat.
“People are really up for having fun,” Ott said. “They are engaged in the idea of a German Christmas.”
Some of the people dancing in the crowd Saturday would perform at the market later in the day. Jim Lang, of the Teutonia Mannerchor, a German singing group for men based in Pittsburgh, said the nation’s traditional music is easily recognizable. Doreen Karas, of the Teutonia Damenchor, agreed.
“I can’t wait to sing for the people here,” she said.
Other performers included Holt’s Music, which had its first showing at the Weihnachtsmarkt after the group was founded in 2021. The founder of the group, McKenzie Holt, said the event was a good opportunity for the young violinists to perform for the public.
During Alpen Schuhplattler’s performance Saturday, Ott pointed out that residents of Western Pennsylvania may feel a kinship with Germany and its state of Bavaria because they both have a history of mining. One of the dances the group performed celebrated Bavaria’s mining history, which Ott highlighted in a speech before the song began.
“Both Western Pennsylvania and Bavaria are rich in mineral ware,” Ott said. “Mining has been an industry in Bavaria literally for over a thousand years, so our next dance celebrates this shared heritage.”
