{"product_id":"serious-nonsense-william-w-donner-9780271071183","title":"Serious Nonsense: Groundhog Lodges, Versammlinge, and Pennsylvania German Heritage","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eVersammlinge\u003c\/i\u003e--community events filled with songs, performances, speeches, and skits that celebrate Pennsylvania German heritage and culture--are held entirely in the Pennsylvania German Deitsch language. Some, the \"groundhog lodges,\" feature a ceremony honoring the groundhog, while others do not. These unique meetings, expressions of a distinctive ethnic identity in the context of a rapidly changing society, have become a traditional mainstay among Pennsylvania Germans who have worked to preserve their language and culture into the twenty-first century. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eSerious Nonsense\u003c\/i\u003e introduces readers to Pennsylvania German cultural practices that tourists rarely see and that outsiders, including most scholars, rarely learn about. The book explores the origins of the versammlinge and details the practice's significance since the 1930s, when the first meetings of the Pennsylvania German groundhog lodges were held. Much as they did then, versammlinge today follow a pattern of prayers, patriotism, and speeches extolling values associated with Pennsylvania German identity, as well as theatrical and oral events that humorously contrast a simpler past with a more complex and confusing present. And the groundhog lodges feature one Pennsylvania German tradition that has become familiar in popular culture: groundhog weather prognostication. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e William W. Donner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0271071184\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780271071183\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Penn State University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/15\/2016\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.60lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.90w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eChoice\u003c\/i\u003e 10\/01\/2016","brand":"William W. Donner","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48064810877183,"sku":"9780271071183","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_7d2d3a92-b187-408d-bcc8-b183b62e9f96.jpg?v=1768671183","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/serious-nonsense-william-w-donner-9780271071183","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}