About Me
- Kristi
- The Boy, 2 Muttleys and I have finally realized our dream of living 1 mile from the Lindt Chocolate Factory. Leaving Atlanta (the World of Coke) for Zurich (the World of Chocolate) hasn't come without challenges, incredible fun or giggles. Follow along as I chronicle our adventures as we acclimate to this new Swiss lifestyle.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Aaaaawesome!
Since we have only been in Zurich for 6 months, the Boy and I are still treated to new traditions, holidays, experiences, etc. One of these new experiences is Fasnacht, a Catholic tradition of Carnival, a giant party lasting 72 hours celebrating and/or mourning the upcoming 40 days of Lent. The event culminates with an amazing parade full of confetti, elaborate costumes, human pyramids and cheer.
Historians have been searching for the lost Homer Scepter since the late 90's. Thought to be somewhere in Middle America, possibly hidden in a neighborhood Dunkin Donuts, it actually found its way to Zurich.
1. Confetti: They take their confetti quite serious here. It is rumored confetti was "invented" in Basel Switzerland, the home of the largest Fasnacht celebration. This rumor very well may be true considering I have never seen so much in my entire life. It was everywhere, and still is everywhere, including my apartment floor. Our friend Saskia was doused (assaulted) with the stuff, she may be finding it for years to come:
If parade participants weren't throwing candy at you like Nolan Ryan, they were showering you with tiny, circular pieces of paper. This one parade participant was particularly menacing:
I stayed far, far away from this apparent ring leader. Don't let this child fool you with its "crying", that is how they get you.
2. Elaborate Costumes: The costumes were nothing short of amazing, which is not surprising, the Swiss take great pride in everything they do. Most participants wore Larve, no not thousands of insect eggs (ew!), rather wooden masks that were mostly creepy, but entirely cool:
It seemed their only job was to scare the crap out of unsuspecting parade goers, myself included. One masked dude made me scream like a 13 year old girl who just watched Poltergeist for the first time.
The costumed participants were in groups of similar dress called "Cliques", and this scaring the crap out of you stuff is very reminiscent of the cliques from my junior high days where the cool girls didn't quite accept me. The parade participants were also keeping you at bay by saying "BOO! You don't belong with us".
3. Pyramids: If the parade participants weren't in wooden masks scaring you, they were forming human pyramids. We seriously saw probably 8 or so different groups getting all isosceles:
And sometimes, magic happens as an amateur photographer:
4. Cheer: Everywhere you looked, there were smiling faces enjoying Fasnacht and the wonderful weather. One parade goer in particular was enjoying herself. She took the word "awesome" to new levels:
It is moments like these that make me so thankful the drinking age here is 16. What a golden nugget of awesome.
The Swiss know how to pull a parade off and we will certainly be back next year. Here are some more photos from the day:
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2 comments:
Dude, what in the world is that girl yelling? She seems a bit non-sober even without the crazy costume. And you know you miss my V-Day confetti. :)
She was yelling "awesome" over and over and over again. She was definitely drunk, and not on life.
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