Fassnacht in Lucerne

In New Orleans, it's called Mardi Gras; in Brazil, it's called Carneval; in Germany, it's called Fasching. Anywhere in the world where the Catholic faith requests a sacrifice for Lent, the locals sacrifice nothing in the pursuit of one last fling. Well, not to be outdone, Switzerland has Fassnacht.

The distinguishing feature of the Swiss pre-lenten bash are the elaborate parades featuring various guilds, clubs and bands - many wearing intricate wooden masks carved to elicit fear and laughter.





To get into the spirit of the season, we took off Monday afternoon and took the one-hour train ride to Lucerne to watch one of Switzerland's grandest Fassnacht parades (Basel being one of the other historical ones). To blend in, Elena decided to paint the faces of the boys: Isaac chose to look like Harry Potter while Elliot chose to look like a lion.

To be fair, Elena then (bravely) allowed the boys to paint her face, though I convinced the boys that I looked scary enough without paint.

Some of my favorite entries include the 'natural yodellers' who donned flesh colored suits that let it all hang out. Unlike the commercialized bits of Mardi Gras, this was a family event, though we didn't hang around for the night time activities, which looked a bit more crazy.