German Boys Clothing: Ring Games


Figure 1.-- Here we see a sibling group. We can decduce that because an older boy would presumably not play with younger children like this unless they were siblings or perhaps cousins or friends of his younger siblings. We know the snapshot was taken in 1926. They are playing a ring game, but a German reader tells us that she has no idea what the game is. Note the mound and sticjk in the center. Source: Image courtesy of the BP collection.

Children in all countries played ring games. These were commonly played by girls and younger boys. Ring games came in endless varieties. They mightbbe played on schoolplaygrounds, on city sidewalks, or even in the country. We do not yet have details on the ring games German children played, but we have begun collecting imaging of the children playing them. We believe that they are now less common than they once were. I thought at first the children had buried a be;oved family pet, but as there is no cross and it is on a parg way, this is clearly not the case. It sirely is a ring game. A reader writes, "I noticed the ring game the children are playing here. It looks similar to a game that we played in scouts a few yaers ago. We placed either a broomstick supported in a piece of square timber in the middle of the room, then all scouts (boys & girls) joined hands around the stick. The intention of the game is to pull each other towards the stick. Anyone who seperated when they were close to the stick was eliminated. The gane usually finished up with the strongest scout winning. Because of the different age groups and sizes, we usually ran three circles at a time."









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Created: 12:56 AM 10/13/2006
Last updated: 12:56 AM 10/13/2006