Bochselnacht

Bochselnacht is celebrated by primary and secondary schools in Weinfelden on the Thursday of the last week before Christmas. Children and teenagers carve animals (“Bochseltiere”) on to hollowed-out fodder beets and place candles inside them. After dark, they light the candles and take the animal lanterns on a procession through the centre of Weinfelden, ending on the square in front of the town hall. There they sing a special Bochselnacht song before proceeding to their school for their reward of a pretzel. At 8 pm the older children perform at the Bochselnacht Theatre. The schoolchildren, who until 2004 were allowed to smoke on this one evening, are not the only ones carried away by the party spirit; the adults enjoy themselves too, heading for restaurants after the theatre. There they tuck into the "Böllewegge", a type of onion bread that is baked especially for the evening and served with Ottenberg wine and "Salzis" sausage. The villages around Ottenberg celebrate Boschselnacht as well, but the custom has evolved in its own way in each village. Its origin and symbolism remain something of a mystery, but the residents of Weinfelden and surrounding areas continue to propagate a number of different legends.