Old men in fancy dress, marching bands, and brownface

Before the burning of the Sechseläuten Böögg yesterday afternoon, Zurich’s 26 guilds put on an elaborate parade which wound its way around downtown for hours and hours. The parade primarily consisted of older men dressed up in period dress marching, riding horses, or being carried on various horse-drawn carriages.

Women aren’t allowed to be members of guilds, so they participate in the festivities by sitting along the parade route with large baskets of flowers. When a man they know/like marches by, the women run up to him, shove flowers in his hand, and collect some cheek kisses, all while disrupting the flow of the parade.

The Swiss apparently have a very different sense of ‘political correctness’ than Americans, as the parade contained about 100 Swiss dressed up like Bedouins, complete with brown face paint. Although they provided a break from the monotony of the other guilds, well, I can’t think of a good way to end this sentence.

Do you think that somewhere in the world there are Arabs putting on white face paint, dressing up like Swiss people, and parading through the streets?

I didn’t know that Statler and Waldorf were members of a Swiss guild.

If these guys are here, who’s guarding the pope?

Tags: holidays, Sechseläuten, Switzerland, Zurich

Burn, Bööggy, burn

It took about 10-and-a-half minutes for his head to explode. According to the witches who figure these things out, that’s a good sign for summer. It probably doesn’t count, though, since the whole thing was done with an ersatz Böögg (who was protected by a large security force of both men and dogs before the burning).

Word from the real Böögg, who’s apparently still being held hostage by the left-wing radicals: he left a note yesterday saying he was disappointed that no one wanted to pay ransom for him.

Tags: Böögg, Sechseläuten, Switzerland, Zurich

The Böögg has been kidnapped!

I was shocked to learn about the Sechseläuten Böögg’s disappearance yesterday upon my return to Zurich. I leave for a week and miss all kinds of excitement here!

Before I get into this story, I should provide a little background to those of you who are sitting there scratching your heads wondering what the hell a Böögg is. Sechseläuten is a holiday celebrated on a Monday in April, and is something like the Zurich version of Groundhog Day. The guilds of Zurich get all dressed up in traditional costumes and parade through the city (OK, this part is less like Groundhog Day, but bear with me). This show of guilds apparently harks back to the days when the guild members basically controlled the city by forming the government. (I’d give you dates and other details, but I’m still sick and don’t feel like doing research or getting off the couch to find my book about it. I’m sure you can google it for more info.) Anyway, after the parade, everyone gathers in Sechseläuten Platz (the square in front of the opera house) to watch the burning of the Böögg, a snowman-like effigy set atop a large pile of something burnable. The head of the Böögg contains fireworks and makes a whole lot of noise when it finally blows up. The amount of time it takes for the head to explode tells us how good the summer will be (the faster it explodes, the better the summer).

So back to the breaking news. Two days ago, the Böögg was stolen out of the garage of the old man who builds it every year. The kidnappers left a chocolate bunny behind along with a note declaring that the Böögg was tired of serving the Capitalists.

Since then, the police have searched in vain for the Böögg. Hostage photos have appeared on the internet. But those who are looking forward to the Sechseläuten celebration this coming Monday needn’t fear – the Böögg-builder has promised to have a replacement ready in time to be burnt on the pyre. Let’s hope they hire extra security for the replacement.

Not that I’m condoning Böögg kidnapping, but this is some funny, funny shit. Hooray for political protesters with a sense of humor.

Tags: Böögg, holidays, news, Sechseläuten, Switzerland, Zurich