[Culturechat] Chlausjaeger

[Vance Roy]

This past Sunday, I had a chance to be in Immensee for a friend's 
birthday. While there, I learned about another interesting custom that 
these people have in that area. Immensee is near Kuessnacht but on the 
Zugersee. It is a quaint village that I only recently saw for real. Any 
Idyllers that have see the name usually have been to the Immensee train 
station to go home after a walk through the Hohle Gasse where William 
Tell supposedly assassinated the Austrian sheriff, Gessler. The real 
village lies down the mountain and further onward to the lake shore.

Immensee has about 1800 inhabitants, has a ship stop, and looks like a 
place that time has largely forgotten. The oldest remaining house is 
about 300 years old. The name means Immen on the lake, and Immen 
evidently was the name of someone instrumental in beginning this small 
community.

On arriving there, I saw a road sign that meant caution. It also said on 
it "Chlausjaeger." I asked one of the local citizens what this was and 
learned this story. Each year about 5 December, there is a parade. 
Parades in Swiss villages are not unusual, but this one begins at 4 AM. 
All lights are extinguished, a horn begins to play a repetitive melody, 
and upwards of 800 young people take part. Some begin to move through 
the streets with large whips cracking to frighten the bad spirits away. 
Then come others wearing huge headdresses with candles burning in them. 
After these come the "Trynchlers". These are people holding large bells 
and walking in such a way so the bells bounce off their knees. This 
makes an unholy amount of noise.

Chlausjager reminds me of other parades in CH around this time of year, 
but only the area of Immensee and Kuessnacht engage in this particular 
activity. The tradition probably dates back to time before Christianity, 
so it has nothing to do with Christmas as a season. I suppose it is hard 
for modern people to imagine the thoughts of primitives during a dark 
winter with no modern heating or lighting. The green fields were gone, 
and there was only snow and ice. Some days the sun was not seen at all. 
Communication was by word of mouth only. It is little wonder that these 
folks became superstitious and wished to scare the devils away. Others 
say that some of these customs were intended to scare off spirits that 
would harm the fertility of man, beasts, and the earth. The whole 
business is erie and solemn with no levity. It is the opposite of Fasnacht.

Of course, after this procession, then comes the party now. All the 
restaurants are filled with people in a typical Swiss festivity mood. A 
day or so later, Sammiclaus will come. More about him later.

Vance Roy
gigli.saw@dplanet.ch.