Winter, winter disappear…

Keystone

… come again another year! That’s the idea behind the Chalandamarz, a festival in the Romansh-speaking part of eastern Switzerland when children walk through the streets on March 1, singing, cracking whips and ringing cowbells. The aim is to banish winter from wells, houses and fields and to wake up spring.

The children pictured here are making a racket in the village of Ardez in the Engadin Valley (Chalanda means “first day“ in old Romansh).

Chalandamarz dates back to when southeastern Switzerland was part of the Roman Empire, and therefore the tradition is probably older than Christianity.