Oberammergau sets hair restrictions ahead of Passion Play

Unless you’re portraying a Roman soldier, you may not get a haircut.

As a sign that a centuries-old tradition in Germany will not succumb to COVID-19, the Bavarian town of Oberammergau has once again imposed its traditional ban on shaving and getting a haircut.

The Hair and Beard Decree, imposed on Ash Wednesday, requires participants in the Passion Play 2022 to grow their hair and beards again, helping actors to “grow” into the roles they will play.  

The Play of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ has been performed every 10 years since 1633 in fulfilment of a vow townspeople made when they were threatened by a deadly plague. A modern plague — the novel coronavirus that emerged in late 2019 and has led to a global pandemic — forced organizers of the 2020 edition to postpone the event until 2022. The premiere is set for May 14 of that year, bringing hundreds of townspeople to the stage and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to the town southwest of Munich. 

“The Hair and Beard Decree is a very old tradition,” said Passion Play director Christian Stückl, in a statement. “Whereas in the past only men were called upon to let their hair and beards grow — women wore their hair long anyway — the Decree now equally applies to both sexes.” 

A press release noted that no one really knows when the tradition concerning hair and beards began. It is assumed that the Decree dates back about

Article source: https://aleteia.org/2021/02/17/oberammergau-sets-hair-restrictions-ahead-of-passion-play/