Der verrückte Zürcher Brauch mit dem brennenden Schneemann

What is the “Böögg” in Zurich?

Every April, Zurich builds a snowman, stuffs his head with fireworks, sets him on a pyre, and burns him — then reads the future in it: the faster the Böögg's head explodes, the better the summer is supposed to be. The word Böögg is Swiss German for a bogeyman-like scare figure, and it’s related to English “bogeyman” itself.

The festival is Sechseläuten, “the six-o’clock ringing”: since the 16th century, the bells announced the switch to summer working hours — work ended at six instead of five, so the holiday celebrates, of all things, a longer working day. The clip’s crowd scenes are accurate: Tausende Menschen jubeln — thousands cheer while the whole city treats a burning snowman as a weather forecast.