Basel Carnival – Fassnacht: 72 hours non-stop – Switzerland

For the first time in three years, since the corona epidemic interrupted its existence, the Basel Carnival – and its name is Fasnacht (FASNACHT, the night of fasting) – returned to the streets saturated with joy and excitement that bubbled under the surface and erupted with a force that made up for lost time.

“The best three days of the year” is how the residents of Basel call the days of the annual carnival celebrated at the end of February, during which the city, known for its cultural spirit, abandons the elegant and restrained routine for three days and reveals a different side of loose humor and bursting joy through music, parades and costumes. Even litter that fills the streets is considered legitimate. Seventy-two hours of fooling around, an atmosphere of Swiss-style chaos that also adheres to rules of conduct in carnival.

In 2017, the carnival was included in the list of intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO due to the unique combination of music, artistic expressions and written content.

Basel, known for its cultural spirit, abandons for three days the elegant and restrained routine and reveals a different side of loose humor and bursting joy

It’s four in the morning and I can’t fall asleep

A large crowd that has given up the night’s sleep has been waiting for a long time in perfect order on the sides of the streets, all wrapped in thermal clothes, hats and gloves that warm the body as well as the heart. Soft snowflakes melt in the air. “Even ‘Basel elders’,” say our hosts in a slightly apologetic tone, “don’t remember intense cold and heavy snow in the days of late February and last week it was already really hot.”

At four o’clock in the morning with the Swiss precision of one thousandth of a second, the opening signal for the carnival was given when the person in charge from among the municipal employees “takes down the shelter” in the public space of the old city and absolute chaos reigns around. The thousands of spectators burst into roars of joy and cheer for the hundreds of piccolo players and drummers marching in the morning procession MORNING STREET who opens the carnival and comes to banish the darkness and welcome spring. The spectacle of light, spectacular in its beauty, is created from thousands of hand-lit colorful lanterns that the medics and musicians carried burning torches on their heads (the day before the carnival nowadays, there is a fire ceremony with a burning torch that rolls through the alleys that were changed during the 20th century to head lamps).

In perfect timing, the beating of the drums and the melody of the piccolo flutes are heard as they take their steps, band after band in an ecstatic rhythm, on the route between the dark and steep alleys. Huge lamps are carried at the head of each group on carts, lighting the way and transmitting messages in the form of cartoons from the current political and social sphere. But first I enjoy a spectacular view on a pampering balcony of a local bar, while snacking and toasting the arrival of spring. But there is nothing like getting lost in the alleys and watching the procession without partitions.

At five in the morning, it’s time to take a warm nap. Many musicians put aside their instruments and masks and sit down to eat a breakfast of traditional delicacies reserved for carnival days only, which mainly features onion cake and a bowl of hot flour soup.

The city wears a holiday, the shops are closed and the shop windows are decorated in the spirit of the holiday and decorated with the traditional figures. The bars and restaurants are full of revelers consuming plenty of alcohol, but according to the rules, you will not find signs of drunkenness on the streets.

Mimosa, oranges and confetti – smile you ate it

Most of the action takes place in the streets and a large crowd of locals and tourists are carried away with unbridled joy. Unlike carnivals in the world such as Brazil, here clear rules of conduct are followed, only the registered participants are allowed to dress up or perform and nudity is off limits.

We have a few hours to nap. And as you already understood, the Swiss watch has a central role in the carnival. At noon today, at exactly 1:30 p.m., the “Procession” – the main parade, with 11,000 participants, sets off on an organized and supervised route around the city that lasts until six in the evening.

Decorated trucks pass accompanied by loud music. The costumes represent regular characters from the repertoire of the ancient theater world such as Harlequin from the Italian commedia de l’arte, court jesters, a character of a fool from Alsace as well as original characters that are created by elaborate handwork. The costumed participants stand behind the counters on which the trucks carrying them are decorated with yellow mimosa flowers. These are the days when it is allowed to hang out with the scouts, pretending that they are going to present the women with a yellow bouquet but distracting them and instead of flowers they absorb colored confetti flakes, small oranges, candies or painful carrot heads.

Everyone smiles at everyone, I smile naturally at the mask that smiles at me as it were and is scared of dark figures but of course there is no connection between the mask and the figure in reality who is revealed in a small human moment as a very old local woman and this time as having a real smile. It’s fun to get lost in the alleys, to breathe the atmosphere, and finally when a figure wearing a menacing mask, surprised me and gave me a mimosa bouquet. I presented it to a woman who craved it more than me and we both parted happy.

On the second evening, about two hundred lamps are put on display in the spacious MUNSTERPLATZ square in front of the cathedral. The lamps carried at the top of each clique (group) to a height of two to three meters have a central role in the carnival: they carry illuminated cartoons illuminated by professional artists with messages. The visitors try to decipher the messages written in local dialect and are difficult to decipher even for German speakers. This year, the annual theme chosen is the climate and energy crisis, so we recognized Putin’s face in a grotesque vision, in the company of Greta Thunberg, the Swedish girl who wanted to save the planet from the politicians. presenting their interpretation of the annual theme: the climate and energy crisis with social and political highlights.

schnitzel what?

The speakers of the Swiss German dialect, which mainly include the locals, enjoy “Schnitzel Bank”, rhyming parodies with a punch line that match well-known tunes and are performed by entertainers who appear in bars. Here, too, I felt that not knowing the local dialect was a flaw in the enjoyment, but even non-Swiss German speakers did not understand the jokes and were unable to decipher the messages on the large lanterns.

The roots of the carnival can be found in the 14th century and the first official one was founded in 1870 by the “cliques” (CLIQUE), groups with a neighborhood or professional affiliation that included only men. Even today, alongside the musicians and participants in the parades, most of the residents are involved in the organization and operation of the carnival on a voluntary basis The carnival always takes place on the Monday (between the end of February and the beginning of March) after “Ash Wednesday” which begins with a fast of abstaining from eating meat until Easter Eve.

Children’s Day – this is how to preserve a tradition for the future

The afternoon of the second day of the carnival is the big day for the children, from babies in strollers to teenagers, wearing costumes from their world and displaying their costumes in their own procession accompanied by their parents.

But, mostly they develop strategies of pranks. Their main interest is in colorful confetti bags (“Rappli” in the Swiss slang), tiny colored pieces of paper – according to the Hebrew Language Academy “Pathitonim” – used at happy events and thrown at revelers.

They try to sneak up on us tourists and in one moment of distraction insert a million pieces of confetti pulled from a hidden bag into our coat and hat as we try to escape the horror of the confetti. The children prove to be more skilled and daring, pushing a handful of confetti into the tangle of one’s hair and into the folds of the other’s scarf. I was saved! But only for now. I remembered the instructor’s advice that there is no point in resisting and it is better to soak up the confetti and even enjoy it. The confetti is piled up in the streets, in the cafes and on the parquet floor in the hotel.

At midnight, when the drums stop, the city’s cleaning team comes out and in the morning the city shines with cleanliness and so God forbid it repeats for four days and nights. The seventy-two hour hourglass is running out and we are trying to squeeze more drops of joy and happiness until four in the morning in February 2024.

The afternoon of the second day of the carnival is the big day for the children, from babies in strollers to teenagers, wearing costumes from their world and showing off their costumes in their own parade

The lamps carried at the top of each clique (group) to a height of two to three meters have a central role in the carnival: they carry illuminated cartoons illuminated by professional artists with messages

Do’s and don’ts – rules to be observed at the carnival:

• Do not take pictures with flash.
• Don’t pick up confetti from the floor and throw it back.
• If a stranger pushes you slightly, cooperate, by virtue of his role he quickly clears the route of the procession so that you don’t get hurt and the procession continues as a series.
• It is recommended to purchase and wear the carnival pin on the lapel to feel part of the event and to financially support the costs.
• Only the official participants are allowed to wear costumes.
• Basel Card Provides discounts and benefits during your stay

The date of the next carnivals: February 19, 2024, March 10, 2025.

Updated information about Basel Basel.com

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Yael Ofer: Tourism and culinary reporter, professional olive oil taster, likes to discover the human story of producers and entrepreneurs with a soul.

The writer was a guest of Basel Tourism and the airline SWISS