Last night on our bus home I noticed a lot of kids in the next neighborhood walking with lanterns. I wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the "Swiss Narrative Night" that was being held at our nearby primary school. I have to confess that we did not attend. After an afternoon in the city and then home for dinner, I wasn't sure how well-behaved Little Geek Girl would be attending readings in High and Swiss German.
Then tonight I heard a loud racket outside. I went to our balcony and called LGG to join me. The procession started with adults carrying tall candles, followed by men carrying yokes with huge cowbells, and then followed by children carrying lanterns and a wagon carrying lanterns and more children. They stopped briefly right in front of us so the police could stop traffic on the main drag, and then continued on. I tried taking pictures but they didn't turn out.
At that point I figured it was time to call someone to find out what was going on. The event is called Räbenlichtliumzug and the event it to commemorate the harvesting of the last crops. Turnips are carved and turned into lanterns, there's a procession, and there's sometimes singing involved. Here's the link to the German Wikipedia entry if you want to learn more.
So Zürich Daddy Geek arrives home after his flight from Edinburgh and I tell him what he missed. Apparently he told me about this a couple of days ago, but I guess I wasn't paying attention.
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