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Silvesterklaus is a masked person taking part inSaint Sylvester's Day festivities inAppenzell,Switzerland, and thus contributing to maintain theChlausen tradition. A Silvesterklaus orNew Year's Mummer (Chlaus in Swiss German) is dressed up as aSaint Sylvester orNew Year's Eve character. In theReformedhalf-canton ofAppenzell Ausserrhoden, the turn of the year is still celebrated in this way.[1] TheSilvesterklausen is part of Switzerland’s intangible cultural heritage.[2]
Saint Sylvester, orNew Year's Eve, is commemorated twice, once according to theGregorian calendar on 31 December and again according to theJulian calendar on 13 January. TheSilvesterkläuse put on their strange costumes and, ringing huge bells and singing a very slow yodel, deambulate in small groups from house to house, to wish the people a happy new year. If 31 December or 13 January falls on a Sunday, the ceremony is celebrated on the preceding Saturday.[3]
It is assumed that theChlausen festival does not have pagan origins, but goes back to a late medievalAdvent tradition involving students of a monastic school.[1] In the 15th century, with the celebrations becoming increasingly wild andcarnival-like, theCatholic Church must have found that such behaviour hardly befitted theAdvent season, which in turn may explain why theChlausen custom was transferred from theAdvent season toNew Year's Eve.[4]
The tradition is first mentioned in 1663, when church authorities objected to such a noisy behaviour. In the Catholichalf-canton ofAppenzell Innerrhoden (AI), according to some 18th-century records, taking part in the "Chlausen" tradition was punished with a heavy fine of five thalers. Nevertheless, the tradition survived in the Catholichalf-canton on a small scale up to 1900, more or less tacitly tolerated by the local district authorities. This happened especially in the border areas near toReformedAppenzell Ausserrhoden, for example inHaslen, which is surrounded on three sides by the Ausserrhoden communitiesHundwil,Stein,Teufen, andBuehler, or inGonten, close toUrnäsch andHundwil. There were also mixed groups, uniting members fromAppenzell Innerrhoden andAppenzell Ausserrhoden (this still happens occasionally), and there were sometimes isolated characters too.
Nowadays, the tradition is kept alive in the Protestant half-canton ofAppenzell Ausserrhoden (AR).
Three different types of Silvesterchläuse can be distinguished. TheSchöne (Beautiful), theSchö-Wüeschte (Pretty-Ugly) and theWüeschte (Ugly).[2]
All characters hide their faces behind a mask, which is either sweet and doll-like (Beautiful), finely covered with natural materials (Pretty-Ugly), or scary looking (Ugly). The young people, in children's groups, are usually without a mask.
A fourth variant exists asSpasschläuse (Jokers), now getting rare. They represent a somewhat freer form of the tradition, and are usually dressed in a lighter costume, illustrating professional people (for instance farmers, forestry workers or cooks). They walk in smaller groups of 4 men and do not carry proper headgear, but only masks, kerchiefs or black pointed caps. These are former members, or yodelers, who want to keep up the tradition without the huge investment of time and energy needed for the production of the detailed costumes belonging to the main figures.
The characters represent either men or women, but in fact only men take part in the groups, due to the heavy costumes, the weight of the very large bells or the many jingle bells.
Every group plans its tour carefully in advance. A group consists of six people: two wear women's clothes and carry numerous jingle bells. The leading Klaus has a white flower in his mouth, his follower, a blue one. All the male figures carry one or two jingle bells on their chests and backs.[5]
This traditional Silvesterklausen is still alive throughoutAppenzell Ausserrhoden, in theAppenzellerHinterland,[4] that is, in the communities ofUrnäsch,Schwellbrunn,Schönengrund,Herisau,[6]Waldstatt,Hundwil andStein, and in the central municipality ofTeufen. Isolated groups can also be seen in the localities ofBuhler andSpeicher.
Starting in 2022, a Schuppel was formed inNew Glarus, Wisconsin to perform every January.[7]
Find a large selection of varied, illustrative costumes atCommons
