Swiss village cattle festival
The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and it's time for livestock and herders to leave the alpine pastures and return to the valleys. The Herd Descent is one of the most famous Alpine festivals in Switzerland, and one of the most beautiful, with the cows, sheep and goats decorated with twigs and flowers.
September in Switzerland is getting chilly, and the residents of Appenzell, a small town surrounded by mountains, have already wrapped themselves in autumn clothes. The town of Appenzell in September is the month of the year when the most folk activities are displayed, and the custom content is mostly cattle, especially the arrival of the "cattle drive festival".
About 400,000 cattle, 200,000 sheep and goats (and even alpacas) spend their summers in alpine pastures in Switzerland. The return of cattle and herdsmen has been celebrated as an ancient custom. Originally, the holiday was a Thanksgiving to celebrate the summer without accidents or losses. Depending on the weather, people celebrate the return of cattle and herders between mid-August and mid-September.
🌹 Why crown cows with flowers?
On each return, the most striking thing is that the livestock wear colorful flower crowns. At that time, the herders will wear flower crowns for carefully selected livestock, especially those cows or lead cows that produce the most milk, and will be elaborately dressed.
The design of the flower crown (the so-called "tschappl") varies from farm to farm. The decorations mainly use seasonal flowers and branches, such as sunflowers, chrysanthemums or dahlias. Larger decorations use paper flowers to reduce weight. Depending on the custom, the decorations are made with crosses, wooden planks, styrofoam crowns, upside-down milking stools, or directly on the horns of cows.
The cattle festival is held around September and October, and is the grandest traditional custom of Swiss folk. Every year on the eve of the festival, hotels in small towns are always full in advance, and not only domestic tourists come to visit, many foreign tourists also flock to the town to experience this important rural festival in Switzerland.
Every year before winter, Swiss herdsmen drive their cattle home from the Alps. After about half a year of grazing, these cattle will provide herders with the best quality milk, natural pasture, and original ecological grazing methods, which is the secret of Switzerland's ability to produce the world's top dairy products.
The cattle Festival is held, on the one hand, the herdsmen commemorate their traditional culture, on the other hand, it is also to express a grateful mentality for the hard year of cattle. Today, this traditional festival has also become an important part of Swiss culture, and has become a label for mountain towns across Switzerland, attracting tourists' attention and participation.
After the next winter, the Alpine grasslands will recover and herders will return to the Alps with their cows along familiar mountain paths. This is one of the two biggest traditional festivals of the year in Appenzell, Switzerland, and of course the biggest attraction for visitors is the town's air and the beautiful natural and human environment.
Next came herdsmen in flower-studded hats and beaming traditional ethnic costumes, carrying sticks in one hand as they escorted their cattle down the mountain path towards town. This is the general configuration of the cattle festival, but each town has its own more detailed differentiation.
After eating and drinking in the Alps for most of the year, these yellow cows now stroll the mountain paths, escorted home like bodyguards by herders in traditional dress.
Although these cows look very docile, in order to avoid unnecessary accidents and affect the herd, the general tourists will consciously stand on the roadside to take photos and group photos.
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