Olga V. Cieslarova Basel ist eine wunderschöne Stadt am Ufer des Rheins, nur einen Steinwurf von Frankreich und Deutschland entfernt und mit zweihunderttausend Einwohnern die drittgrößte Stadt der Schweiz. Der Karneval, der in seiner heutigen Form seit Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts gefeiert wird, ist der größte des Landes (rund dreißigtausendContinue Reading
Olga Věra Cieslarová Während der Fasnacht, der grössten Fasnacht der Schweiz, verwandelt sich die Stadt Basel jedes Jahr in einen Umzug von maskierten Gruppen. Die Fasnacht ist ein Geysir der Kreativität, ein satirischer Kommentar zum Zeitgeschehen, an dem sich Tausende von Bürgerinnen und Bürgern aus allen Gesellschaftsschichten beteiligen. Alles inContinue Reading
Location: all around Sweden, processions usually organized by cities, schools, universities etc. (but in general is Saint Lucy’s day celebrated to a certain extent by other European countries as well). Date: the 13th of December Common names: Luciatåg (Sweden), Lussinatt (Norway), Luciadag (Denmark and Finland), Luutsinapäev (Estonia), Saint Lucy’s day, Lucia Day (English speaking countries).Continue Reading
Location: Roztoky (near Prague), Czech Republic Date: Saturday before Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of Christian Lent period Description: Shrovetide in Roztoky consists primarily of the procession of masks that starts in the city and continues to find its peak on local hill called Holý vrch. This hummock servesContinue Reading
THE FEAST OF THE BEAR – A NEW RITUAL IN A TRADITIONAL CONTEXT Olga Cieslarová, Martin Pehal THE WILD MAN, THE GRIFFIN AND THE LION “Diryff-dyff-dyff” resounds from a distance. We are standing with the children on the bank of the Rhine River in Basel. We hear the loud boomsContinue Reading
Location: Kingdom of Swaziland, South Africa Date: late August/early September Description: This type of celebration (called by the Swazis) gathers all the maidens of the land to show their virtue, talent and beauty as well as pay tribute and show their allegiance to their rulers. It is a festival typicalContinue Reading
Location: KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa Date: late August/early September Description: This type of celebration (called Umkhosi woMhlanga in the Zulu language) gathers all the maidens of the land to show their virtue, talent and beauty as well as pay tribute and show their allegiance to their rulers. ItContinue Reading
Location: Japan Date: 7-day festival held according to the region (March – May) Description: Sadness is inevitably bound up with the experience of beauty, because nothing lasts. This buddhist-coloured thought about impermanence together with the Shinto communion with nature forms the celebration of fleeting beauty in the form of theContinue Reading
Location: Mexico (most prominently, to lesser extent in Guatemala, Bolivia, El Salvador, Peru) Date: around 1st of November Description: The Festival of the Dead (in general) is based on the assumption that bad things can happen if the living fail to give the dead what is their due – inContinue Reading
“Holi hai!” (“it is Holi!”) Location: widespread in India as well as some western regions (therefore there are many local variants according to the class, region or the type of religion) Date: February/March, on the full moon of the Phalguna month Description: In general can Holi be characterised by joy andContinue Reading