I spotted this sign on a streetcorner in Landsberg, Bavaria last summer, mainly because it was... well... odd. I assumed it belonged to some kind of artsy store nearby.
It was only later, back home, that I started to wonder if there was more to it, and, as it turns out, there was. It's an old custom in rural areas of Upper Bavaria, and marks the birth of a female baby.
Since, by tradition, that meant a burden for farmers because daughters didn't do the fieldwork of sons, and needed to have a dowry for marriage, the Bixn Macherei sign is festooned with cans inviting contributions.
Bixn is an old Bavarian dialect word for a woman. Macherei defies accurate translation, but the general sense is 'making' or a 'place for making'.
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