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Silversterchlausen in Appenzellerland (January 13, 2024)

The beautiful ones wear artfully designed headgear with scenes from farm life, which are lovingly handcrafted over hundreds of hours of free time. The most desirable and beautiful impress with elaborate, wildly decorated hats, hoods and masks.

On New Year's Eve and "Old New Year's Eve" dated January 13th, an impressive winter custom is celebrated in the Outer Rhodes hinterland. Groups of Klauses, so-called “Schuppel”, visit the farms on their own routes. There they stand in a circle, move their bells in rhythmically measured movements and sing a “Zäuerli” (a yodel song). The Kläuses wish the farm family a happy new year, receive a gift of money and move on.

Today, there are three groups of Clauses at New Year's Eve: the “Schöne”, the “Schö-Wüeschte” and the “Wüeschte”. The “beautiful ones” wear velvet costumes decorated with silver braids and hoods and hats decorated with glass beads, foil and cords with carved everyday scenes. The “Wüeschte” are wrapped in shaggy robes decorated with brushwood, leaves or straw and cover their faces with demon larvae made of papier-mâché. The “Schö-Wüeschte” also use natural materials for their clothing, but – like the “Schöne” – they are carefully designed. Most of the members of the groups are bell-claws with a cowbell or two cowbells on their chest and back and represent male figures. In all groups there are at least two female figures who wear up to thirteen “rolls” (slit round bells) on their upper bodies and are called “Rollenweiber”. As a distinctly male custom, only a few girls take part in children's groups.