What makes a festival a festival?

Festivals are celebrated all over the world – and have been at all times and under almost all circumstances. But what actually turns a festival into a festival? What is absolutely necessary, where does the specialty of a festival come from in contrast to everyday life? Are there any general, cross-cultural and cross-time similarities? And what does it mean when festivals are affected by migration? How is it celebrated in another country, in another culture?

In the exhibition, festival traditions of the Danube Swabians and the participants’ own experiences in celebrating festivals were brought together: They presented their favorite objects from the museum collection on the subject of festivals and supplemented them with exciting comments. They showed what must not be missing so that a festival becomes a festival – whether in the past or today, whether here or in other countries. They talked about how festivals were changed by migration. And they revealed what the DZM means for each and every one of them.