Räbechilbi

Start of the Räbechilbi parade.

An example of the carvings on the turnips, displayed throughout the village.

Children of Richterswil carrying displays between the floats.

The symbolic "church ladies" leading the way in the parade.


Turnip Festival on Vimeo


Last Saturday night, Matt and I made the half hour trip down the lake to a little village called Richterswil. On the second Saturday of each November, the village comes alive with with turnip laterns decorating the streets, store fronts, and window ledges. The children play a major role in the parade, carrying wreath displays in between elaborate floats glowing with turnip laterns.
As stated by Wikipedia.com, "The custom of Turnip Fair is said to be based on a legend according to which, in the mid 19th century, the wives of farmers living in the hills above Richterswil used turnip lamps to find their way home from evening church services in the wintertime. This explains why the Turnip Fair parade, first documented in 1884, is and always has been opened by so-called churchgoing ladies dressed in dark colors. "