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EveryParampara

Traditions of Basel

A Rhine city whose Fasnacht begins at four in the morning and whose Rhine swim is a summer habit.

Basel, at the meeting of Switzerland, France and Germany, has a carnival that is a Protestant surprise. Fasnacht begins on the Monday after Ash Wednesday at precisely four in the morning, when the city lights go out and lanterns and piccolo bands take over the streets. It lasts exactly seventy-two hours.

Basel: Basel, Switzerland
Photo: Norbert Aepli, Switzerland ( User:Noebu ), CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Morgestraich and the lanterns

At the Morgestraich, drummers and piccolo players in costume walk through darkened streets behind huge painted lanterns, which show satirical themes in verse. The cliques, local clubs, work all year on masks and costume. Participants eat flour soup, Mehlsuppe, and onion tart, Zwiebelwähe, in the dawn.

At the table

Basler Läckerli, a spiced honey biscuit, and Basler Mehlsuppe, a roasted flour soup, are local. Fasnacht cakes, Fasnachtschüechli, are thin and fried. Chocolate and cheese are national foods, and Rhine swimmers carry a waterproof bag, a Wickelfisch. During Fasnacht, onion tart and flour soup are served at dawn to the cliques after the first march.

Signature traditions of Basel

Also part of it, and being written: Basler Fasnacht (The carnival.), Basler Läckerli (The biscuit.), Fasnacht (The pre-Lent carnival tradition of the Alemannic regions.).

A trail idea for Basel

  1. Marktplatz See the red town hall.
  2. Rhine swim Float down the river.
  3. Kunstmuseum See art.
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇨🇭 Liestal, SwitzerlandChienbäse A Swiss carnival night parade of blazing pinewood brooms and carts of fireFestival 🇩🇪 Cologne, Germany and 2 moreGerman CarnivalKarneval Pre-Lenten street parades, costume balls and local revels across German-speaking lands.Festival · Feasts and festival meals 🇨🇭 Basel, Switzerland and 4 moreSwiss National DaySchweizer Bundesfeiertag Switzerland's annual national holiday, celebrated with bonfires, fireworks, and lanternsCeremony 🇨🇭 Basel, SwitzerlandCarnival of BaselBasler Fasnacht A 72-hour masked carnival of drums, flutes and satire in northern SwitzerlandFestival 🇩🇪 Germany and 2 moreSwabian-Alemannic FastnachtFastnacht A late-winter carnival of masks and jesters kept before Lent in the Alemannic landsFestival 🇨🇭 Basel, Switzerland and 4 moreScheibenschlagen A Central European custom where glowing wooden disks are flung from hillsides into valleys at dusk.Festival

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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