Wir haben “nur” auf Facebook gewünscht, aber auch hier: חג אורים שמח לכולכם!

Please add to my former blog:

Wishing you all

H A P P Y – H A N U K A

“Liebe Mutter sei so gut
Schick mir ein Zylinderhut
Nicht zu gross und nicht zu klein
Morgen wird meine Hochzeit sein”.

We can look at older pictures where gentlemen walked the parks with their silver handle walking sticks and hats, usually top hats (Cylinders). Still in the 1960’s walking in the City of London you could see the busy businessmen rushing in their Bowler hats, the Financial Times under their arm, and rain or shine, the long umbrella – not the compact folding one usually hanging from their arm. It was just as looking at busy black ants.

The top hat and tails were worn at formal occasions, like weddings. If it was an afternoon affair the outfit was grey. The evening fare was always black, and the hat made of shiny silk. In the synagogues, the officials wore also black top hats.

These were the times that ordinary people, not only El-Capone, the Mafia or Secret Agents hiding behind a newspaper, wore hats. Today nearly all of it is gone. In London you will have to look hard to find someone wearing a Bowler hat. Top hats are gone, except for the doorman in hotels. If you are an observant Jew, you probably would still wear a hat, maybe not daily but certainly on Shabat (Saturdays) while going to the synagogue. If you are a Chasid (a follower of a certain rebbe’s court), you would wear the special design of hat, the one designed specially for your clan. If you participate in a Chasidic event you would see just a sea of black, black hats.
You can still see straw hats with wide brims at the seaside, and cowboy hats in Texas.

I always wondered why the hat disappeared. Is it because most of the people today own a motor car? Did you try to get into a motor car with a trilby or any other high hat? Is there another reason?