[Gocamino] 2007 Pilgrims

[Robert Spenger]

Rosina,

It must be an Alpine thing. When we visited my mother's home canton of  
Appenzell in Switzerland, we learned that "Silvester" (they  spell it  
sylvester) was a really big thing. But in Appenzell it is a bit more  
rustic. Some of the men dress up to look like wild wood spirits,  
decorated with lichens and pieces of bark. We have a couple of CDs of  
the event and you can hear the barking of dogs as a background to the  
rather wild music and singing. I suppose that it is in keeping with  
the Swiss tradition of the Appenzellers being regarded as comic,  
rustic characters. Quite a contrast to the sophistication of the  
alpine cities like Geneva and Vienna.

Bob S.


On Jan 10, 2008, at 4:36 AM, blaroli at aol.com wrote:

Hello you all from  golden Vienna,
They call New Year's "Silvester" and it is a huge, huge, days long  
celebration all over the place despite the freezing cold.

Rosina