It’s that time of year when people throw festivals in anticipation of other festivals in anticipation of Mardi Gras!

Spring breakers across America are just returning from their trek to the biggest party in the country. And according to the offbeat blog Life in the Fast Lane, the Swiss are no different. 

The blog reports that in the city of Basel they have just finished celebrating their Fasnacht (or “Fastnacht” in some areas) Festival, which is a three-day carnival and the world’s largest open-air art exhibition all rolled into one.

A tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, Fasnacht entails parading through darkened streets at 4am with decorative lanterns the day before Ash Wednesday. Sounds familiar. 

And it should. Fasnacht translates as “fasting eve,” and it stands today as a celebration before the beginning of Lent in the same vein as Mardi Gras. But it’s origins are not that simple.

Although it is hard to say for sure since a fire destroyed much of Basel’s written documents (and a large majority of the city itself) in 1356, the story goes that a group of knights engaged in a fight with some citizens during a jousting tournament. The knights were run out of town and 4 of them were killed in the process. In retaliation, 12 citizens were beheaded, which caused the city to have its protection from the Roman Empire revoked. Now the festival serves as an acknowledgement and celebration of this curious part of the city’s history. 

In addition, aside from being an awfully good time, Fasnacht serves as a place to make social or political statements through art. The lanterns, which can be small and worn atop the heads of the parade participants or huge and therefore wheel-mounted, are often painted with depictions of major events and notable people from the past year–for better or for worse. For example, in one picture featured in the post, an artist rendered a pictorial representation of the steroid-use controversy while (in the video clip at 3:56) another lantern shown was plastered with Simpsons characters.

For more on the Fasnacht Festival and to see more of the awesome lanterns, read the full article here.

Image: YouTube

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