After the harvest in autumn, the young unmarried girls of the villages met in the spinning-rooms in the evening to produce their own dresses in hand and with much industriousness. They were talking and singing here of course. The oldest one in the spinning-room, called "kantorka" rehearsed in this time also Sorbian hymns with the girls for the Shrovetide and Easter. The young men of the village did not have any access to the spinning room. Only on particular days they were allowed to enter the spinning-room.

Origin of this celebration of the birds is the legend, that once the magpie had married the raven on this special day and all birds were invited to this celebration. The children feed the birds with grains in winter and are rewarded for this by the birds with sweets and pastries in January.

In Lower Lusatia the children in kindergarten and schools are celebrating the bird wedding on January 25th. The children are imitating the wedding while going through the village. The girl is dressed as a magpie (traditional lower sorbian costume) and the boy as a raven (black suit with top-hat). The other children are the guests and wearing bird costumes.

At Zampern the covered village youth walks from house to house to sing  songs on every yard.

For this they get eggs, bacon or money. In the evening everything is consumed together. Zampern is also called "Heischegang" and takes place before Shrovetide. Today there are no limits set for imaginative outfits. The figures of that custom shall ban the dark winter, keep dangers and demons away from the village and welcome the fertile time of the spring.

The best known and celebrated custom in most villages is the Shrovetide. After the winter work on the spinning wheels in the spin mill was finished, the Shrovetide was the highlight of the end.

This custom ended the time between harvest and seed. The Shrovetide procession takes place on a Saturday or Sunday (January, February also until the middle of March). The men wear suit, tie and sometimes hat, the girls have the traditional lower sorbian costume on. The real procession follows after a speech and a photo session. The couples walk through the village, accompanied by a band. Special villagers receive an honour visit, they get the "Zapuststräußchen" (bouquet of flowers) and they dance. 

The honoured person thanks the couples with coffee and cake. Such a tour through the village can take some hours. The procession usually starts around 1.30 pm and it ends at the evening around 6:00 pm in the inn. Then it gets full here and the dancing starts.