Fun history fact: in Geneva, on this day, we celebrate since 1602 our victory over the French by crushing a chocolate pot filled with marzipan vegetables by saying “thus perished the Republic’s enemies”. It is called L’Escalade.
Fun history fact: in Geneva, on this day, we celebrate since 1602 our victory over the French by crushing a chocolate pot filled with marzipan vegetables by saying “thus perished the Republic’s enemies”. It is called L’Escalade.
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Let me know if you want to know more about it!
Oh shit is the procession today? Actually better than christmas. There. I said it.
The victory was over the Savoyards, not the French. At the time France was allied with Geneva.
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Participated to a few of these. It’s the weirdest thing and the expats had this look like their wondering if they’re pulling their leg.
Doesn’t helps the eldest and the youngest in the office have the “honor” of smashing the intricate chocolate pot. That’s one way of celebrating some old lady smashing a Savoyard soldier’s head with her soup pot. Ouch.
Oh and Geneva being Geneva there is a good number of French in the office so that’s comfortable.
It’s also my birthday! Smashing chocolate cauldrons has been a birthday tradition for me as far back as I can remember. Was hoping to spend the day at the festivities in Geneva, but I’ll just cross my fingers for next year!
Congrats and bonne fête. Next step: Recapture the pays de Chablais. I finally want to hike around the lake without holding up with those Frenchies…
I remember talking about this in French classes in school. Our French language teacher actually bought a chocolate pot like depicted here and told us all about it. We even crushed the thing because it is a tradition in Geneva to do so, I think? Fun times, fun times.
Let’s not forget about the part where you destroy your hand on a chocolate marmite and immediately afterwards everybody around you runs to get a piece of chocolate. Fun times
Func fact: Genevans stuck the heads of the enemy killed and prisoners on stakes outside the city and left them there for 6months.
The bodies were dumped in the Rhone to float back to the french.
I was like “awww, that’s a cute pot” until i saw how small the Martipan Vegetables were in relation.
Holy crap, this pot is giant!
Thank you for keeping Marzipan Vegetables alive, btw, i absolutely love them, and i seem to be the only one.
Just when I thought the country could not get more surreal.
Kids dress up, ring at the doors and sing Cé qu’è lainô, the unofficial Geneva Republic national hymn, to get goodies
De dzou de dzou c’est baltouse l’Escalade !
did solid chocolate even exist back then?
I want to see the marzipan vegetables
We dress up too, it’s the best part, and every year (not this year tho) and there’s a race where the runners are also in disguise.
It’s a big event in Geneva and a great excuse to party, get drunk and eat chocolate (:
That’s one fancy (and big!) marmite right there.