Succah - Decorations

Is there such a Yekkish Minhag to specifically hang onions in the Sukkah since the pasuk says "btzail kinafecha tasteerayne"? While we're on the topic, are there specific things that make a "Yekkish Sukkah" unique (decorations, construction, etc)?

Daniel

How do you get the feathers in the onion? It would be easier to get the feathers around the onion.

MPerlman

In the Feldheim publication “Jewish Life in the Village Communities of Southern Germany” it says on page 66:

“To decorate the sukkah, the children would gather potfuls of Hifen, the round red fruits growing on wild rose bushes and available in abundance at that season in the open fields and meadows. Good-sized darning needles and strong thread were used to string these fruits together, alternating with squares of white and coloured paper. The fruits were there to remind everyone that Sukkoth was the festival of the ingathering, and these chains had the advantage of being able to withstand rain. The magen David in the center of the sukkah, adorning the six- or eight-branched Shabbath lamp which was traditional in every Jewish home, was also decorated with this type of chain, and the warm light of the lamp also added a Yom Tov glow to the room”

In my father’s sukkah we had a magen David in the centre which was adorned with chains of melon pips. We also had chains of horse chestnuts adorning the walls.

Regards

Richard St

To add my "two cents" - The minhag in Alsace was/is to take an onion, insert feathers in a tight line around the circumference, and hang it just inside the entry to the Sukkah. In Alsatian, it is called le chauté, which is hard to translate. It means "something silly that is made fun of" or "something capricious."

The idea was to remind those entering the sukkah of the posuk "bzteil kanofecha..." However, to dissuade the simple from believing it was an amulet or charm, it was called le chauté. Nevertheless, many who still hang le chauté claim that it "protects the sukkah from evil", which davka misses the point.

- Avraham Bloomenstiel