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| A chocolate cauldron is a symbol of this holiday |
La fête de l'Escalade is the oldest celebration in Geneva. It is the night of December 11th/12th in 1602 that the Duke of Savoy marched his army to Geneva. He intended to take the city by surprise and wipe out the heresy within, before making Geneva capital of his territories. When the soldiers began to attack, an alarm was sounded and the citizens of Geneva took up arms to attack the army. As the cannon roared, the Savoyard army was forced to retreat. The next day the citizens of Geneva went to the churches to thank God for saving them from grave danger. One of the myths that surroung the holiday is that a woman dumped a big cauldron of hot soup on the attackers, so the chocolate cauldron symbolizes that story. These marmittes are filled with marzipan vegetables.
Nuno, Ryder, and I took a visit to the Old City of Geneva for the fesivities of the Escalade. Many people were dressed in traditional clothing at the time of the Escalade in the 1600's. There was also musicians marching through the streets playing specific songs to celebrate the holiday. Sadly, the drummers scared Ryder. We were also able to go through the Passage de Monetier that is only open for the Escalade. One of my favorite things about the celebration is the mulled wine, so good!
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| The typical regalia |
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| Mulled Wine aka Vin Chaud |
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| A group of the citizens of Geneva stand in front of the Palace of Justice |
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| Nuno and I attack each other with traditional weapons at the time |
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| Watch out I have a weapon I am not afraid to use! |
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| Drummers marching through the street |
