{"id":39248,"date":"2026-03-26T15:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T15:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/39248\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T15:27:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T15:27:09","slug":"a-short-film-joins-in-the-timeless-swiss-masked-tradition-of-silvesterchlausen-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/39248\/","title":{"rendered":"A Short Film Joins In the Timeless Swiss Masked Tradition of Silvesterchlausen \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

In communities throughout Switzerlands\u2019s Appenzell Hinterland and Midland regions, a unique tradition with enigmatic origins unfolds around the New Year. Known as Silvesterchlausen<\/a>, the custom entails a group of boys and men who don remarkable, handmade costumes with masks and headdresses that represent rural, wild, and natural scenes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSilvesterchlausen<\/a>,\u201d a dreamy short film by writer and director Andrew Norman Wilson<\/a>, highlights this regional seasonal event, which occurs on December 31 and January 13. The first date marks the turn of the new year on the Gregorian calendar, while January 13 denotes the same on the Julian calendar<\/a>. The ornately dressed mummers, in groups of six, polyphonically yodel and ring bells. \u201cThe ritual has been performed for at least 500 years, but nobody knows how or why it began,\u201d Wilson says,<\/p>\n

Some of the performers\u2019 headwear resembles miniature parade floats, while otherworldly designs made from pinecones, mosses, grasses, and other organic items make some of them appear as though they have emerged directly from the earth. In small, tight-knit municipalities, the tradition is a rare instance of relative anonymity, as familiar residents disappear behind meticulously crafted garments.<\/p>\n

The performers, known as Chl\u00e4use, practice diligently for a month or so before the event, creating something of a \u201cChl\u00e4us fever.\u201d Boys form the groups and \u201ccontinue throughout their lives until the members are too old to withstand the physical toll of the 18 hour days,\u201d Wilson says, sharing that the participants build significant bonds.<\/p>\n

As New Year\u2019s Eve arrives, the mummers connect houses with a red string, literally and figuratively stitching connections within the community. Then, as the Chl\u00e4use move through villages and visit homes, local residents provide mulled wine to keep their bodies warm and spirits high.<\/p>\n

See the film on Vimeo<\/a>, and find more of Wilson\u2019s work on Instagram<\/a>. If you\u2019re in the Upper Midwest, you can experience a taste of this annual tradition<\/a> in New Glarus, Wisconsin. You might also enjoy Ashley Suszczynski<\/a>\u2019s incredible and mysterious photographs exploring European masking rituals.<\/p>\n

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