Fasnacht (carnival) is kind of a big deal here. Actually, Basel boasts the largest Fasnacht celebration in all of Switzerland. Having no previous carnival experience, I really didn't know what to expect. Even now, having experienced it, I'm not sure that I could adequately describe it. Here is the basic history and gist though---
- Basel's Fasnacht dates back to 1376. That first celebration involved a jousting tournament that resulted in the killing of some noblemen and subsequent beheading of 12 citizens. Sounds like a good time, right?
- Fasnacht last for 72 hours, beginning at 4 am on Monday morning, and ending at 4 am the following Thursday.
- Most of the outlying towns have their own celebrations. Our town, Reinach, celebrated the week before. These, of course, are a much smaller affair then Basel's Fasnacht.
- Each day has different designated activities. For example, Monday and Wednesday are the big parade days, Tuesday is "Kid's Day", and on Tuesday evening there are concerts in town.
- Paper confetti, known as "räppli", is tossed everywhere. I'm told that you will find it all throughout the year in very random places. I found some while making my kids beds this morning.
- A major component to fasnacht are the different cliques, or groups, who dress up in traditional costumes. These cliques march around or ride on floats, often with drums, piccolos and other brass instruments.
And with that intro, here was our experience with Fasnacht-
This was our town's celebration, which began with a parade featuring all of the different school age kids. Each school was responsible for making their own costumes, and I'm still in awe of their creativity.
We also attended Reinach's main parade. The kids LOVED it when they had räppli thrown of them. On Sam's jacket you can see a little bronze puzzle piece pin. You can buy these in different finishes (bronze is the cheapest), and they are your ticket to fasnacht. You can still go without one, but I think you are more likely to be a target of the räppli.
Basel's Fasnacht-Morgestraich-Basel's fasnacht officially begins with Morgestraich, which happens on Monday morning at 4 am. That's right, 4 am. All of the lights in the entire city shut off and the cliques march in a parade carrying (or wearing) lanterns and playing the drum or piccolo. Since it would be insanity to take our children to this, Andrew stayed at home while I ventured off with my friend Cushla at 2:45 am. It was an awesome experience, followed by a nice breakfast at 5 am.
The city before the lights shut off (above) and after (below) with the lanterns (they are not on fire, my camera's exposure just makes them look that way).
Most of the lanterns have political or social messages. Since my German is so elementary, most of it was lost on me, but I did happen to see a few lanterns the following day (on display) directly related to US politics and affairs. I found this fascinating.
Kid's DayTuesday was kid's day in Basel, and let me just tell you, the kids ruled the city that day. Typically it is the old women who rule, but not on Kid's Day. Kids pour through the city wearing costumes (we dressed in our US store bought ones and stuck out like sore thumbs), and also come armed with wagons full of räppli- which is thrown on everyone, including the old women. I had one little girl lure me over with a flower, and right as I was thanking her, she threw a hand full of räppli right in my face. Kids also hand out candy to each other, while the cliques march throughout the city forming impromptu parades (or maybe these were planned, we couldn't tell). Either way, it was a blast.
Sam (above), going to get candy from a float, and then getting dumped on. Below is a perfect example of two little kids with their wagon of räppli waiting for some poor fool (me) to walk by.
We loved our first experience with Fasnacht and can't wait till next year!
