I heard it for the first time during an evening walk a few days after I had arrived in Lucerne.
Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.
The sharp, abrupt, and consecutive cracks rend the air of the chilly November dusk in Kriens, a town in the canton of Lucerne. The sound wasn’t much different from our very own Kali Pujo bajis (fireworks) going off — I’m talking about the shells that whoosh into the air with a crack and form colourful shapes in the sky. But this is Switzerland, and you can’t do fireworks at will. I walked back to have a look at the source of the sound.
From across the road in the partially dark town square, I could see a man swinging a long whip in the air. The ‘crack’ emanated the moment he stopped the swinging motion mid-air, only to swing it again, producing the consecutive cracks.
Geisslechlöpfe is a custom celebrated in this Swiss canton at the advent of winter when the streets and neighbourhoods resonate with the frequent continuous whip cracks between most of November and early December. Switzerland being Switzerland, you cannot do this when and where you please. The government allows performers to engage in the practice during this specific time.
Geisslechlöpfe, which began as a Swiss pagan tradition to scare away the winter spirits and demons with the sound of cracking whips, has transformed into a Christian custom in these parts and now introduces Samichlaus — Saint Nicholas — for the December 6 celebration of Saint Nicholas Day.
The whips, known as ‘Geissle’ are wooden sticks with thick hemp ropes tied at the end, which are braided into increasingly thinner strands and after the ‘Schlössli’ culminate in a ‘Zwick’. Swinging the whip in the air and stopping the motion produces a sound that is exactly like a firecracker. When I first saw people in action with the whips, I was reminded of Silas’s self-flagellation scene in The Da Vinci Code.
Thankfully, the people here do not intend to injure either themselves or others with the whips. But if you have watched the movie, it sounds pretty much the same. This custom, unique to Lucerne, is not restricted to adults. Kids enjoy it just as much, and it is common to find children walking around with these special whips during this time. When we asked their mother if we could take pictures of three kids with their whips, she agreed. The children were excited and gave us quite the performance!