Böögg predicts so-so summer
The Böögg "snowman" has spoken – or at least exploded after 12.55 minutes, meaning this summer will be neither a scorcher nor a washout.
Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz left the frying pan of a UN racism conference in Geneva for the fire of Zurich on Monday where the beginning of spring was celebrated with its traditional Sechseläuten festival.
Sechseläuten, which means “six o’clock bell ringing”, dates back to medieval times when craftsmen worked daylight hours. This was until 5pm in the winter.
At 6pm, thousands of people gathered as the bonfire under the 3.4-metre Böögg, which is made of cotton and contains explosives, was lit. Music was played and a horse parade took place around the pyre.
The idea is to see how long it takes for the Böögg’s head to explode: under ten-12 minutes means a good warm summer can be expected. If it’s longer, then you can expect a bit of a wet one.
Last year it took 26.1 minutes for the definite bang to be heard, albeit well after the head had burned away. Rain had made it difficult for the bonfire to get going and for a long time the Böögg was engulfed in clouds of yellow smoke.
The snowman accurately predicted the 2003 summer heat wave – it exploded after 5.7 minutes – but on other times it has been a little wide of the mark.
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