Silvester

In Switzerland New Year's Eve is known as Silvester, since it also happens to be St. Silverster's day. We went to Herisau in canton Appenzell Ausserrhoden to see the Silvesterchlausen (New Year's Eve spirits) which chase away the evil spirits of the old year. There are three types of costumes, ugly, beautiful, and nature, but in Herisau the distinction between the three was pretty subtle. 

The routine was as follows. First there is a tremendous clanging followed by a group of six to eight chlausen running up the road. They stop in front of a business and stand in a circle dancing and making as much noise as they can with their huge cowbells. Each group also has a guy with a couple of rows of big round bells. He seems to be the leader. Once they have made enough noise, they bring their circle in close and yodel quietly. When they are done singing the owner of the shop they have chosen offers them drinks (holding the drink for them while they sip through a straw.) The dancing, singing, drinking cycle may be repeated a few times. Finally, with a few drinks in them, the dancing gets extra rambunctious, the crowd might scream a couple of yodel yee-haws (which sound like a cartoon character falling off a cliff), then one of the silvesterchlaus backs up a bit and paws at the ground like a bull and runs at the watching crowd to clear a path for the rest. The remaining Silvesterchlaus all shake hands with the shop owner then run down the street to the next place.

Helping out with a drink. R thinks they were drinking Flauder, a very sweet and very girly elderflower soda, because she saw the Flauder bottle. I thought she was wrong, but it turns out Flauder is from Appenzell, so it is more likely it was Flauder than beer or something in a Flauder bottle. There is no reason at all why beer wouldn't be kept in its own bottles.

All the Silvesterchlausen are men. They seem to be eligible at about age eight. We saw an adorable group of new Silvesterchlausen and a fairly reluctant group of thirteen or fourteen year olds. Changing voices and yodelling are a painful combination for everyone involved. Cutest of all were a few little boys still too young to be Silvesterchlausen who were wearing cowbells like they were superhero costumes.

The youngest Silvesterchlausen.

An elaborate headdress.

As far as we could tell, this was beautiful, ugly, and nature.

Looks like this group might include the town taxidermist.

All the cute European New Year luck symbols are out and around: shamrocks, chimneysweeps, pigs, mushrooms, etc.

I just thought this was funny. They are asking you to buy the fondue sauces, but it is fairly hard to find Heinz ketchup. Thomy seems to have a monopoly on the restaurants, and it is awful - like eating tomato paste.