This light festival takes place in many communities at the beginning of November. Children and adults carve lanterns out of turnips (Rabeliechtli).
A couple of weeks previously, C brought home a letter from school which I struggled to fathom. It seemed to be about pretzels and the turnip evening. OH filled it in and sent it back. There was also some information about the background to the parade on the back of the letter (the gist is lights and harvest and warding off evil spirits and St Martin’s day and being about 40 days before Christmas yikes) but the gist is all we gleaned I’m afraid. No information about it from Grade 4, so are they too old for it ? Ich verstehe nicht......
Tuesday C arrives home with two enormous turnips, and no instructions for what to do with them. Clearly Swiss mothers know exactly how to deal with this childhood ritual – bit of a shame about the auslanders then. So I SOS a friend who is very experienced at all this (well, this is her third Rabeliechtli Umzug, so she’s an expert compared with me), and these are her instructions:
“..cut off the top and remove the insides just as you would a pumpkin. When this is done, have some cake cutters / knives and make patterns or write their name on the outside, peeling off the skin which will enable the light to come through when there is a candle inside. You can either put a tea light inside and attach the roof ... Read moreback with strings. Do this by making holes on the bottom piece and then thread the strings (3 should do) through the lid peice (making sure it sits above the turnip) and then up about 15cm to tie them together as the handle. The other option is to make a hole in the bottom of the turnip and stick a candle through it so the lit piece is inside, and pop the lid on with a hole in the centre of it to allow the flame and smoke to escape.”
Thank you Sophie, I owe you a large G&T.
Last year’s parade had been held the evening I had begun my journey back to the UK to sell my British car, so I have no idea what to expect, although OH had effectively gatecrashed then with the boys – albeit without them having any turnips. So he has more idea of what to do, and, bless him, carves the turnips whilst I’m out at rehearsal.
On the Thursday evening, the parade begins and ends at school, and is led by a drummer. There are a couple of hundred people taking part. Every now and then we stop and sing a song. Afterwards, on the playground, there is a bratwurst and gluhwein stall. Quite what we were supposed to do with the pretzels – which C had brought home that day – I don’t know, apart from eat them, obviously. Only the boys have now decided they don’t like pretzels after all.
A lovely Swiss tradition, all the more pretty for the remains of last week’s snow, and here are some photos. And next year I’m starting with the turnips about 2 weeks earlier.
A couple of weeks previously, C brought home a letter from school which I struggled to fathom. It seemed to be about pretzels and the turnip evening. OH filled it in and sent it back. There was also some information about the background to the parade on the back of the letter (the gist is lights and harvest and warding off evil spirits and St Martin’s day and being about 40 days before Christmas yikes) but the gist is all we gleaned I’m afraid. No information about it from Grade 4, so are they too old for it ? Ich verstehe nicht......
Tuesday C arrives home with two enormous turnips, and no instructions for what to do with them. Clearly Swiss mothers know exactly how to deal with this childhood ritual – bit of a shame about the auslanders then. So I SOS a friend who is very experienced at all this (well, this is her third Rabeliechtli Umzug, so she’s an expert compared with me), and these are her instructions:
“..cut off the top and remove the insides just as you would a pumpkin. When this is done, have some cake cutters / knives and make patterns or write their name on the outside, peeling off the skin which will enable the light to come through when there is a candle inside. You can either put a tea light inside and attach the roof ... Read moreback with strings. Do this by making holes on the bottom piece and then thread the strings (3 should do) through the lid peice (making sure it sits above the turnip) and then up about 15cm to tie them together as the handle. The other option is to make a hole in the bottom of the turnip and stick a candle through it so the lit piece is inside, and pop the lid on with a hole in the centre of it to allow the flame and smoke to escape.”
Thank you Sophie, I owe you a large G&T.
Last year’s parade had been held the evening I had begun my journey back to the UK to sell my British car, so I have no idea what to expect, although OH had effectively gatecrashed then with the boys – albeit without them having any turnips. So he has more idea of what to do, and, bless him, carves the turnips whilst I’m out at rehearsal.
On the Thursday evening, the parade begins and ends at school, and is led by a drummer. There are a couple of hundred people taking part. Every now and then we stop and sing a song. Afterwards, on the playground, there is a bratwurst and gluhwein stall. Quite what we were supposed to do with the pretzels – which C had brought home that day – I don’t know, apart from eat them, obviously. Only the boys have now decided they don’t like pretzels after all.
A lovely Swiss tradition, all the more pretty for the remains of last week’s snow, and here are some photos. And next year I’m starting with the turnips about 2 weeks earlier.
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