Sechseläuten
Monday, 14th April is a public holiday to celebrate the beginning of spring.
The name Sechseläuten comes from the practice, believed to have originated in the thirteenth century, of workers in Zurich agreeing that from the end of winter they would work until the bells chimed 6 o'clock.A large parade takes place, with thousands of onlookers lining the parade route in the old town. And the men are given flowers and kisses by the women. (the men are also dressed in traditional attire, representing the different guilds of Zurich. Its only celebrated in canton Zurich.
After the parade is the grand finale. This is the burning of the "Böögg" (snow man) the symbolic figure of winter, on the Sechseläuten green.As the bells of St. Peter's church chime six o'clock the bonfire below the "Böögg" is set alight and the mounted guildsmen gallop around the leaping flames to the tune of the Sechseläuten March. Made completely of wadding and filled to the brink with firecrackers, they say in Zürich that the faster the head of the "Böögg" catches fire and explodes, the warmer and more beautiful the summer will be.
(though based on the snow we have been having this past week, i am not sure if it will be that long a summer!)
A few years back, some one kidnapped the original snowman and the snowmans maker (the same guy who has been producing them for the past 30 years or so) had to quickly make a new one. So now the snowman is locked away safely till the big day.
