Fasnacht Friday

It is Fasnacht season. What is Fasnacht? It’s a traditional festival that takes place before Lent, and is celebrated primarily in Switzerland, Southern Germany and a few other areas. I always thought it was like Mardi Gras, but in Switzerland, Fasnacht season starts as early as mid-January and goes through mid-March. Nearly every town in Switzerland has a Fasnacht celebration on one of the weekends. The biggest and most well-known Fasnacht  festivals are in Basel and Luzern.

We wanted to experience this phenomenon. So on Friday after school, Sarah and the kids got in the Fasnacht spirit. James sported a mohawk, the girls wore some facial jewels and crepe paper, and Henry had a homemade Fasnacht hat. We drew a lot of looks as we made our way through Münsingen to the train station, and I was a little worried we overdid it. Boy was I wrong!

Once we got to Bern, there were plenty of colorfully costumed people mixed in with the normal business people at the train station. We picked out a costumed family, and decided to follow them. We made it to the parade, which consisted of very strikingly dressed marching bands. There had to be a lot of space between the bands so you could differentiate the music, and in between bands, crowds of costumed people walked right along so that the line between the parade and the spectators was completely blurred. So, after a handful of bands had passed, we decided to follow the crowd and paraded the streets of Bern. We ended up at the Munsterplatz or Cathedral Square, which was packed with people. We had a lot of fun.

I remember being a little disappointed back in October when Halloween passed without much fanfare. But now I understand why. Who needs Halloween when you’ve got Fasnacht?!

Check out our Fasnacht pictures here.