March 6th, 2019 : Get Stuffed

[xoxoxoBruce]

When I hear Mardi Gras I think of the Samba clubs in Rio, and the Krewes in New Orleans, but it’s easy to forget this is going on
all around the world with celebrations large and small. All the locations have their own customs and Characters.
How does it work in Switzerland?

Rather well, thanks to the stuffed - terrifying or jokers - who roam wrapped in 30 kilos of straw and broom in hand to sprinkle passersby in the streets of Evolène in Switzerland on Carnival Sunday. According to the legend, if the stuffed ones make heads of devils, evil spirits or tortured wizards (carved masks), it is to try to coax the souls of the dead who haunt the region. This ancient custom dates back to the Bronze Age when Celtic peoples lived in Valais.

The Carnival period is also the time of the year when the spirit of the wild man is celebrated, "a moment of excitement where men overflow their usual existence to open up to other worlds of unexpected connections and meanings. The reproduction of the company is then faulted. The transmission is broken in favor of the invention. The unpredictable reign, jubilation seizes the streets. Time of loss, dissipation, in a predictable world, it draws a crossroads, breaks the monotony of regular existence to introduce incandescence." (Jean Duvignaud)

So your BIC is your friend and passport, don’t leave home without it.

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[BigV]

Those look AWESOME!

I'm considering incorporating the design into this year's Sakuracon costume!

[Gravdigr]

I didn't know what happened, but I knew it beat the hell outta sniffing burlap.

~Jim Stafford, The Wildwood Weed

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

So your BIC is your friend and passport, don’t leave home without it.

Never do, never do.