Spring officially gets underway in Zurich with the traditional Sechseläuten festival, which is normally held on the third Sunday and Monday in April. The celebrations include colourful processions and culminate in the burning of an effigy known as the Böögg.
The festival goes back to 1818, when one of the city's traditional guilds held a night time parade complete with musicians and horseback-riders. The idea caught on, other guilds followed suit and in 1839 the first coordinated Sechseläuten parade of all the guilds took place.
The name Sechseläuten, meaning "chiming six o'clock," goes back much further in history than the parades: it derives from the fact that in winter the working day was limited by the lack of light, but once spring had come work could be carried on until 6 p.m.
The festivities open on the Sunday with a parade of children, mostly dressed in historical costumes. Unlike the adult parade, children from other communes, cantons or even countries are allowed to take part.
This is followed the next day by the parade of the guilds. In mediaeval times the guilds were organisations grouping members of one craft or profession, but today very few of their members are still engaged in the work represented by their guild. However, they must all belong to old Zürich families and have a close connection with the city. Each year the guilds also invite a guest canton and a limited number of other guests of honour to join them in the parade.
The culmination of Monday's festivities is the burning of the winter effigy, the Böögg. The Böögg, looking like a snowman and stuffed with firecrackers, stands on a huge woodpile which is lit when the cathedral bells ring out 6 o'clock. As the pyre burns, members of the guild gallop round it on horses. The moment when the Böögg's head explodes marks the official end of winter. And the faster this happens, the longer and hotter the summer is meant to be.
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