Topping out
The topping out ceremony (also Bauheben, consecration festival, lifting hard, Hebauf, Hebweih, First beer or premium hard, and in Austria -out ceremony, First Party / fixed or topping; in Switzerland topping, in Low German window Beer) is celebrated when the shell of a building completed and erected the roof or the roof is created. A topping out ceremony always takes place on the site and on working so that all can participate. For houses without roof, the ceiling is celebrated.
History
The topping can be detected already in the 14th century. The custom goes back to ritual forms of interest payment and the settlement of labor, as they were not uncommon in the Middle Ages. The festive gatherings, which were held at the end of each work must be regarded as legally binding symbolic acts for which the contact between subject and authority was characteristic. In this sense, is the topping in connection with harvest beer or Thanksgiving.
The end of the ceremony
The roof (also called directional crown) with the wreath decorated directional or directional tree and one of the carpenters or the polishing made a brief speech, the verdict or carpenter saying. The verdict is both a thank you to architect and client, on the other hand a request for God's blessing for the house. The speaker traditionally gets wine or liquor to drink to the health of homeowners and throws at the end of the target award the glass from the roof. It shatters on the floor, everything will be fine, the glass remains intact, which is a bad omen and of course a shame for the pitcher. The owner has yet to strike the last nail, sometimes the carpenters him play here a little prank.
Following the verdict is celebrated, the so-called sword mouse usually takes place at the site. The builder will host the festival, which is his gratitude to the participating artisans. In the 15th and 16th centuries, drinks and food at the beginning or end of a phase of construction were also part of the craft wage. For topping next to the craftsmen all other helpers, neighbors and a representative of the developer will be invited. It is also an opportunity to show off the progress friends and relatives.
Previously designed to the topping slightly different. The builder had also embark on the final nail, but the rafters in question had been held by the craftsmen initially hidden. Then the carpenters negotiated with the client about the amount of beer to be delivered to the feast, before the builders the secret aired around the beam. The client then struck the nail was then set to the rafters and carried three times around the new building before the boozy celebrations began.
The name derives from the expression topping straighten or build here, with the setting up of the roof is called. Therefore, to say the topping in the German-speaking Switzerland also topping.