Buergbrennen Let's burn winter

Fed up with winter!

Each village has their own. They can be of bigger or smaller scale. The Buergen  that are lit up on the country's highlands on Buergsonndeg or Brandons  Festival - the first Sunday after carnival - are huge stakes whose mission is to chase winter away. They come in various forms - sometimes, they look like a small castle, but most of them take the form of a giant stake with a cross in the middle.

The materials frequently used include straw, branches and logs. Old Christmas trees are also used. Most of the time, the  Buergen  are erected by the local young people, who sometimes also organise a torch-lit procession from the village to the Buerg,  which they then set alight before the crowd's eyes.

A custom that brings villages together

The event usually starts during the afternoon with the  construction of the 'Buerg',  followed by a torchlight procession, and ending with the lighting of the fire as darkness falls. In some places,  the honour of lighting the ' Buerg ' goes to the most recently married local couple,  or to a local celebrity.

Grilled  food and traditional dishes  including  Ierzebulli  (pea soup), Bouneschlupp (green  bean soup ) and Glühwäin (mulled wine)  are  served to warm up the audience, and often, the festival goes on long after the stake has been reduced to embers.

Origins

Originally, the Buergbrennen or Faaschtefeier (Lent Festival) used to be a pagan custom.

Since ancient times, the Buergbrennen tradition  has been  observed around the time of the spring equinox. The  blaze symbolises the rebirth of spring and the end of winter, the triumph of warm over cold, of light over darkness. Some claim the blaze is a symbolic reminder of the time when witches were burnt at the stake.