The national Dreikönigssingen 2023 campaign will open on Friday at the place where otherwise successful football clubs are celebrated by their fans. Around 650 singers and 200 accompanists will take part in the broadcast ceremony on the Römerberg in central Frankfurt, as announced by the organizers in advance. The number of registrations had recently increased again. The groups travel mainly from the diocese of Limburg. But there were also guests from eight other German dioceses and from France.
The largest youth campaign nationwide
Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, who will lead the celebration of the 65th Epiphany singing in Frankfurt, said the campaign was “in Germany and probably in the world the largest campaign by children and young people for children and young people”. Nationwide, an estimated 300,000 girls and boys are reported to be traveling in the early days of the new year to bring God’s blessing into homes as singers. They collect donations for underprivileged children around the world.
Bätzing, who is also president of the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference, said he was a cantor himself. When asked which of the Three Kings he was, Bätzing said, “I played all the roles.” The bishop stressed: “I’m super proud that the carol is still attracting so much interest today. It’s funny, because the carol is a really strong campaign.”
At the 64th campaign at the beginning of 2022, girls and boys from around 8,400 parishes nationwide raised around 38.6 million euros in the second Corona winter. Before the pandemic, it was around 50 million euros. The president of the children’s missionary organization “Die Sternsinger”, Pastor Dirk Bingener, now underlined: “In the next campaign we want to strengthen the doorstep meeting again. We hope for the generosity and solidarity of the people”.
They are not initials
Magnificently dressed as kings, the singers revive an ancient custom. Because already in the Middle Ages young people consciously walked through the cities in the footsteps of the Three Kings and announced the birth of Jesus, according to the Kindermissionswerk. In early 2023 they will reattach the “C+M+B” plaster signs.
The initials do not mean Caspar, Melchiorre and Baldassarre, but “Christus mansionem benedicat – May Christ bless this house”. The blessing is now also available as a suitable “blessing sticker” for the door.
The singers have raised around €1.27 billion since the campaign began in 1959, during which time more than 77,400 projects have been supported for underprivileged and needy girls and boys in Africa, Latin America, Asia, Oceania and Eastern Europe . Programs in the fields of education, health, pastoral care, nutrition and social integration are financed.
“Emancipate Children, Protect Children”
In addition to the Kindermissionswerk, the campaign is also supported by the Bund der Deutschen Katholische Jugend (BDKJ) and this time under the motto “Empowering children, protecting children – in Indonesia and worldwide”. BDKJ Federal President Stefan Ottersbach said: “Together with our around 1,300 project partners abroad, we are committed to ensuring that children grow up in a safe environment and that their rights are protected.” Bingener added, “Boys and girls need to feel they can say no.”
After 2003, the diocese of Limburg hosts the opening ceremony for the second time. It starts on Friday at 11:00 with a service and will be broadcast live from the internet portal of the Cologne church domradio.de.
The party will not be boring. At the preliminary press conference, Miriam Honemann (13) and Julian Baier (13) from Bad Camberg and Jakob Bechold (11) from Kelkheim took to the podium as singers. Jakob revealed to reporters that at the opening ceremony they would be doing a “La Ola wave” and lighting a confetti cannon. Julian said he’ll come in on the e-scooter. And Miriam is looking forward to “a mega campaign”.
