Fastnacht in Basel, Switzerland

By: aromaproductions on 1:07 PM

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By Althea Romeo-Mark

Broddah!
hit he in he y' eye
hit he in he y' eye
if he y' eye bus' up
me nar goin' cry
me nar goin' cry
mash he on he toes
blood-up he nose
he too two-timing
broddah
too two-timing
bruk up he finger
le' de pain linger
le' de pain linger
will serve him right
will serve him right
ah see him
in de carnival
dancin' up 'pon Rose
whinin' on she batty
playin' wit' she natty
hol' in' up she hip
dippin' when she dip
he dere in he little worl'
on a half pint trip
shakin' to de rum
shakin' to de drum
ah never see a man
so brazen an' bol'
he forget how he ol'
dancin' to de steelband
twistin' up he waist
can hardly keep de pace
can hardly keep de pace
stare me in me y'eye
dry face, fresh face
ah feel ah goin' die
ah feel ah goin' die
bu' me nar goin' cry
me nar goin' cry
kick he in he bum
broddah
knock out de rum
leave he in de trash heap
le' Rose come
le' she come fine he
see how ol' he be
she nar goin' wan' him
she nar goin' wan' him
when she see he in de sun
not dat ol' two-timing bum
chuck he on de side
broddah,
chuck he on de side
ah got me pride
broddah
ah got
me pride

Well, it's that time again.  Fastnacht in Basel. It begins at dawn on Monday in the dark. Then suddenly the center of the city is lighted with lanterns. It is the start of three days of parades.The huge colorfully, designed lanterns, an art form of their own, are painted with cartoon-like messages, are ladened with poetry in Swiss dialect and pulled by trucks and tractors  through the city center. Cliques (clubs of muscians) wear oversized, bizarre masks and costumes which allow them to be themselves, free and frivolous in disguise. Confetti, oranges, flowers and sweets rain down on onlookers from passing floats, each depicting a theme, usually political satire. Only those wearing a special pin, a badge of support and solidarity, are spared the onslaught of confetti.

 We squeeze our way through crushing crowds and listen to flutes and loud brass bands that blast our ear drums. We hope not to be stuffed with confetti by overzealous children, so we don't have to frantically dust our coats and brush our hair, cause confetti cling onto to you, follow you home and then, there's lot of cleaning to do.The streets are carpeted with it next morning, and after three days confetti pile high like snow after a storm.

 Some people hurriedly escape to the cold snowy mountains from the noisy revelry and swirl and sway as they ski down the sparsely covered mountain suffering under the threat of global warming. This I am sure is a theme of revelers who have fun while they try to waken our numbing consciences.

After three days we wake up on Thursday morning to find the city swept clean and Fastnacht seems like it had been a dream.