The Best Festivals and Celebrations

Vogel Gryff Volksfest: This colorful tradition has a griffin, a lion, and a "wild man of the woods" floating down the Rhine followed by dancing in the streets. It occurs alternately on January 13, 20, or 27 (changes every year). On a wintry day in January, a raft, laden with two drummers, two men with large flags, and two cannoneers, who repeatedly fire gun salutes, floats down the Rhine. The principal figure is a savage masked man carrying an uprooted pine tree. At Mittlere Brücke (the middle bridge) he's met by a lion and a bird with an awesome beak. At noon the three figures dance on the bridge to the sound of drums. The savage man or Wilder Mann, the Leu (lion), and the Vogel Gryff (griffin) are old symbols for three Basel societies that could be called neighborhoods today. Throughout the afternoon and evening there's street dancing in Basel to honor the occasion, which originated in the 16th century. The purpose of all this madness? Ostensibly, to strengthen community ties.

Celebrating the Onion: If your favorite sandwich consists of only bread, mayonnaise, and onions, or your idea of humor is to poke fun at buffoons disguised as onions, you'll love the Swiss capital's celebration of Zibelemärit, held annually on the fourth Monday of November. During the festival, huge sections of the city's historic center are filled with vegetable stalls featuring plaited strings of onions (more than 100 tons might be sold in a day here) and other winter vegetables. The barrels of confetti thrown by competing camps of high-spirited students offer endless photo ops. Facetiously dressed jesters appear in bars and restaurants to poke fun (usually in Swiss-German) at the sometimes-pompous political posturing of their governmental elders.

L'Escalade: Way back on December 11, 1602, the city of Geneva was attacked by Savoyard soldiers trying to scale its ramparts. The duke of Savoy had lost his former possession and wanted it back. Alas, it was not to be. The denizens of Geneva valiantly held out, and one brave amazon, Mère Royaume, scaled the ramparts and poured a pot of hot soup on the head of a Savoyard soldier. For 3 days and nights beginning December 11, normally staid Geneva becomes virtually Rabelaisian, staging torchlight marches, country markets, and fife-and-drum parades, as a festive crowd in period costumes marches through the streets of the old city. Many present-day Mère Royaumes -- armed with soup pots, of course -- can be seen.

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