Das Silvesterklausen

The St Sylvester mummers or Silvesterkläuse follow the most impressive wintertime custom in Appenzell Ausserrhoden’s Hinterland district, in the communities of Urnäsch, Herisau, Hundwil, Stein, Waldstatt, Schwellbrunn and Schönengrund. For some years, mummers have also returned to the Mittelland district, particularly Teufen, and it looks as if this old custom may be regaining the ground it once lost.
Today, there are three kinds of Kläuse: «ugly» ones, «beautiful» ones and «woodland» ones, some of them less distinctly true to their type than others. The vast majority of them appear in groups, locally called Schuppel. The mummers either carry one or two cow-bells or Schellen and wear men’s clothes – these cow-bell men are frequently called Schelli after their instrument – or they wear women’s clothes and a harness to which thirteen round, slotted bells or Rollen are attached, and are called Rolli or Rollewiiber. These bell women’s clothes nonetheless disguise men: the custom is decidedly a male province, and only children’s groups will occasionally admit girls. Many Urnäsch groups set off in the small hours of the morning of New Year’s Eve, the day of St Sylvester. Usually, they first visit a friend of a member of their group to chlause and zaure, but at that stage still without their masks and their ornate headgear.

Only in the first light of dawn do the St Sylvester mummers start their day proper. In groups they march from house to house, led by the Vorrolli, the bell woman in front, who is followed by the Schelli, while the Noerolli brings up the rear. In front of a house, they place themselves in a circle and ring their bells in a frenzied manner, then quieten down and start to sing a Zäuerli. This is usually done three times. Then the Kläuse wish the head of the house and his family a Happy New Year with a strong handshake, receive a gift of money, and march off to the next house in the same order in which they arrived.
These activities are very demanding physically. The Schelli with the biggest cow-bells in a «beautiful» Schuppel easily carries between 45 and 65 pounds of weight on his shoulders. This means that every group of mummers will have to take several breaks to recover their strength; after all, the day is long, particularly as they will eventually finish up in an inn or a restaurant to chlause the night away – often into the early hours of New Year’s Day. Old Sylvester’s Day proceeds along the same lines. As a rule, however, the Kläuse do not set off as early, but then march from inn to inn in the evening to display themselves to the many visitors and admirers from near and far.

Nowadays, a group of «beautiful» Kläuse usually consists of six men, two Rolli and four Schelli. The bell-women wear enormous wheel-shaped bonnets and are dressed in a kind of traditional women’s costume. The Schelli carry two cow-bells, one on the chest and one on the back, which are tied together with ornamented leather straps across the shoulders. On their heads, they wear roughly rectangular hats whose sides and undersides are decorated with thousands of little glass beads, colourful tassels, strips of metal and silver foil, like the bonnets of the Rolli. The niches in these hats are filled with representations of rural life consisting of meticulously carved figurines; such scenes may depict a cattle drive to alpine pastures, or craftsmen and farmers at work. A Schelli’s equipment is completed with a costume of monochrome velvet adorned with silver trimmings, white stockings, and heavy footwear.
It is only since the Second World War, and increasingly in the past few years, that chlause on Old Sylverster’s Day has become so famous as a deep-rooted native custom that whole coachloads of tourists are now carted into the valley of the Urnäsch, and that special trains and queues of cars make their way towards the same destination.

«Ugly» Kläuse often wear frightening masks made of papier mâché, pigs’ or cows’ teeth, bones and other natural products. Their trousers, headgear and cloaks are covered with hay, straw, fir twigs, holly or similar materials. Under their cloaks, these men carry a bell, which is only partially visible and is tied to a rope strung across one shoulder.
Despite the fact that the symbolism of this custom will strike many onlookers as decidedly pagan, historical research has revealed that chlause can be traced back to a St Nicolas celebration – hence the name – observed in the late Middle Ages by students at a monastery college. In the 15th century, this custom increasingly began to get out of hand, resembling carnival cavortings, and thus put a strain on the pre-Christmas season. The appearance of frightening masks at Advent time, then, does not date back to prehistoric pagan times at all.
As early as 1663, the church authorities objected to people «running around in the night with bells and making a racket in the guise of Nicolas». It is perfectly conceivable that, by way of sole concession to parochial protest, the custom was moved from the time of Advent and Christmas to a less delicate date, New Year’s Eve.

The «woodland» Kläuse, which the vernacular more aptly also labels «beautiful-ugly» ones, are – as their popular name indicates – a mixture between the «beautiful» mummers described above, and the «ugly» ones. It was in Urnäsch in the 1960s that a group first appeared in this garb. Cloaks and hats are crafted from natural materials, with a great deal of feeling for decorative effects. In addition, the top surfaces of the hats and the niches in the coats display scenes similar to those displayed by the «beautiful» Kläuse.
As in Appenzell Ausserrhoden, chlause also used to be popular in its sister half-canton of Innerrhoden, which had remained with the Catholic faith. Innerrhoden’s Book of Mandates of 1776–1808 states that chlause was banned on penalty of a fine of five thalers. It may well have been owing to this hefty fine that this custom eventually died out in Innerrhoden.

 

Place		In Appenzell Ausserrhoden’s Hinterland district, and into the Mittelland district.
Date		On New Year’s Eve, 31 December, and on Old Sylvester’s Day, 13 January, which was New Year’s Eve according to the Julian calendar.
Duration		From dawn into the night.
Participants		Men, boys, and more rarely small girls, called Silvesterkläuse, or Kläuse for short.

Silvesterklausen A - Z

up