Sechseläuten in Zurich
Sechseläuten in Zurich is held on April 15. The third Monday in April. This event in the second decade of the month April is annual.
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Sechseläuten is not a Switzerland wide custom but a Zurich tradition. It is a festival to celebrate the end of Winter and it was originally related to the introduction of the Summer working hours. The earliest recorded celebration of Sechseläuten dates back to 1525.
In bygone days, every year young boys in Zurich’s Kratz quarter – formerly the area between the Fraumünster and Bürkliplatz – would burn a Böögg-like figure on the day of the vernal equinox, the same time as the guilds would commence their Sechseläuten celebrations. The word “Böögg” is probably related to the word “bogeyman” and similar names in other languages for this frightening imaginary figure, such as Bullebeiss, Buhmann or Boesman. In Zurich, the Böögg resembles a snowman and symbolizes the winter. The burning of the Böögg serves to drive out the winter and herald the spring.
In 1944, Sechseläuten was held at Enge Harbor, as its usual site, the Sechseläutenwiese, was being used to grow vegetables. On that occasion, the Böögg tipped over and fell into Lake Zurich.
In 2020 and 2021, Sechseläuten had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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