The Klausjagen ("

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

chase") festival takes place in the Swiss town of

Küssnacht Küssnacht am Rigi (official name since 2004: Küssnacht) is a village and a district and a municipality in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland. The municipality consists of the three villages Küssnacht, Immensee, and Merlischachen, the hamlet ...

on the eve of

Saint Nicholas Day Saint Nicholas Day, also called the "Feast of Saint Nicholas", observed on 6 December (or on its eve on 5 December) in Western Christian countries, and on 19 December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church Calendar, is the feast d ...

. The festival, attended each year by about 20,000 people, consists of a parade of around 1,500 participants, and lasts far into the night.

History

The procession is believed to have its roots in pre-Christian pagan traditions involving the chasing of wild spirits (compare Wild Hunt). The early forms of the Klausjagen involved much unruliness and noise, and were frowned upon by Church and authorities, and were officially outlawed in 1732, but could not be effectively suppressed. In the late 19th century, the custom was instead "Christianized" and bishop's mitres first appeared in the procession.Klausjagen homepage-history
accessed 13 December 2016 In the 1920s, the still rather rough procession was tamed by a committee of villagers who created the modern, clearly organized parade. Since 1928, the St. Nicholas Society of Küssnacht has been responsible for the continuation of the custom. The procession is organised in six stages. First come men cracking long two-handed sheep whips. Next come men wearing Iffelen or Infuln, which are enormous, incredibly ornate paper hats which resemble a cross between a bishop's mitre and a stained glass window, lit from the inside by candles, and as much as seven feet tall. Behind them is

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

himself, with four attendants in black robes and hoods known as

Schmutzli The companions of Saint Nicholas are a group of closely related figures who accompany Saint Nicholas throughout the territories formerly in the Holy Roman Empire or the countries that it influenced culturally. These characters act as a foil to ...

s, who hand out pastries. After them comes a brass band playing the traditional Klaus song, followed by a large group ringing trycheln, large bells which are descendants of cow bells. Lastly, the entire procession is followed by men blowing cow horns. Participants and watchers then generally head on to celebrations in local taverns.

References

{{reflist

External links

* http://www.klausjagen.ch/ - The official Klausjagen homepage.
1997 Pulse of the Planet article

Swiss folklore Küssnacht Tourist attractions in the canton of Schwyz Festivals in Switzerland 1732 disestablishments Festivals established in 1928 Parades in Switzerland Winter in Switzerland