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It's time to prepare for Fasnacht!

Halloween is one thing but have You ever heard about Fasnacht?! Hold Your horses and get ready for some storytime! BTW we will have our Fasnacht at the college :) Thank You #livingin for all the information!

So, what is Fasnacht?


Based on the dates for the Catholic Mardi-Gras, Fasnacht is celebrated during three days, Schmützig Donnstig (Dirty Thursday), Güdis Montag and Güdis Dienstag (Fat Monday and Tuesday), the last two days usually blurring into one extra long day. This celebration is the last big party before the 40 days of Lent and is meant to be as loud and scary as possible in order to frighten Winter away.


The celebrations begin on the Thursday morning (this year on February 24th) at 5 a.m. when the Fritschi Father, the carnival father and his wife launch the party with a big bang (literally, a canon will be going off), confetti and lots of oranges will be thrown into the crowd; presumably to offer everyone plenty of vitamin C to survive the rest of the festivities.


What can I expect from Fasnacht?


You should expect to hear lots of Guggenmusic bands all over the city, and music at all hours of the day. Be prepared to stand out of their way should you meet them on any streets, as the tradition is to stand by and let the bands do what they do best. Parades will take place every day during the festival, with the official ones on Thursday and Monday. Don’t forget to bring your camera, as you will want to capture some of the incredible costumes and floats that are created.


Guggen-what?


The Guggenmusic bands are the heart of Fasnacht. Made of, usually, talented musicians who practice all year round, they pick a theme, make magnificently scary costumes and floats and spend the whole duration of Fasnacht playing their socks off, just ever so slightly out of tune. They usually take turns performing in the allocated spots all over town and you will undoubtedly encounter them fraying their way through the crowds, or having a well deserved drink in a café or restaurant before donning their heavy head gear and going out to play again.


I’ve heard people talking about the Guilds, who are they?


In the 15th century the Safran Guild (Zunft Zum Safran) was appointed to organise Fasnacht and keep the Fritschi customs alive, other guilds have since joined to help. Every year the Safran Guild elects a new President who also represents the Fritschi Father and is considered the most important Luzerner by the locals. You can recognise the guilds, as their members are parading on horses, or in coaches and throwing oranges into the crowd during the parades.


So make sure you put the dates in your calendar, this is not an event you will want (or even can) miss. In the next few weeks, we’ll be providing you with a round up of the events taking place during the festival and also some tips to surviving Fasnacht. Make sure to keep an eye on our website for these! In the meantime if you’re looking for a brief history of Fasnacht then check out the tourism officewebsite. While the official Fasnacht website has all the events and dates for Fasnacht revelling.


Interesting, right! We are excited to celebrate this fiesta! It's a bit sad that due to pandemic is not that loud but we will try our best on campus!

If You did not see our moments from Fasnacht, have a glimpse :)



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