The New Year's Eve St. Nicholas celebration is arguably the most impressive winter tradition in the Appenzell region.

In the municipalities of Urnäsch, Hundwil, Schwellbrunn, Schönengrund, Waldstatt, Stein, Herisau, Teufen, Speicher, and Bühler, the “Wüeschte,” the “Schöwüeschte,” and the “Schöne” begin their celebrations early in the morning.

In the Appenzell region, the turn of the year is celebrated twice: on December 31 according to the Gregorian calendar and on January 13 according to the Julian calendar. On these dates, the New Year’s Eve Chläuse take to the streets. A distinction is made between “schöne Chläus,” “wüeschti Chläus,” and “Naturchläus.” The “Schöne” wear artfully decorated headdresses featuring scenes from rural life, lovingly handcrafted over hundreds of hours of leisure time. The “Wüeschti” and “Naturchläus” captivate with their artistic, wildly decorated hats, bonnets, and masks. Starting early in the morning, the New Year’s Eve Chläuse are out and about, going from house to house and wishing everyone “a happy New Year” with devotional singing and lively “Zäuerli.” In the evening, they spend time in the taverns until midnight. If you’d like to join in the evening festivities, you should reserve a table early at one of the taverns.

By the way: If December 31 or January 13 falls on a Sunday, the festivities take place on the preceding Saturday.


Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.