Popular customs and festivals in Switzerland

Late in the morning of a wintry day in January - alternately January 13, 20 or 27 - a raft with a very strange crew floats down the River Rhine. There are two drummers, two men carrying big flags, and two cannoneers, who repeatedly fire gun salutes.

The Fasnacht (carnival) in Basel is recognized as the largest popular festival in Switzerland, with some 15,000 to 20,000 masked participants taking part. The prelude is the Morgestraich on the Monday following Ash Wednesday.

Until the Reformation, the Ascension Day Ride around Basel and surrounding areas was an old custom associated with the blessing of the fields and the checking of the boundary stones.

In many areas of Basel-Country, bone-fires and torch-light parades form the prelude to carnival, which coincides with the one being celebrated by the city of Basel. In the small town of Liestal, a most spectacular form of this prelude has become famous in its own right, partly owing to the fact that is is performed at various festivals.

On Christmas Eve at 21 hours, a few dozen mostly younger men, follow a traditional route through the village. They themselves are silent, but the bells they swing create a rhythmic din.