The Boog Screwed Us for Summer, or So They Say

Monday April 14 was Sechselauten. The roots of the festival go back to medieval times when the first day of summer working hours was celebrated in the guildhalls across the city. City ordinances strictly regulated the length of the working day in that era. During the winter semester the workday in all workshops lasted as long as there was daylight, but during the summer semester (i.e. starting on Monday following vernal equinox the law proclaimed that work must cease when the church bells tolled at six o'clock. Sechseläuten is a German word that literally translates into "The six o'clock ringing of the bells". Changing to summer working hours traditionally was a joyous occasion because it marked the beginning of the season where people had some non-working daylight hours.

Popular tradition has it that the time between the lighting of the pyre and the explosion of the Böögg`s head is indicative of the coming summer: a quick explosion promises a warm, sunny summer, a drawn-out burning a cold and rainy one. The shortest time on record is 5:07 minutes in 1974, and the longest in 2001 with 26:23. The 2007 explosion of the Böögg`s head (on 16 April 2007) took place 12:09 minutes after the pyre was lit, promising a medium warm summer. On 14 April 2008, heavy rains soaked the Böögg and the wood pyre materials so much that "firemen" in the style of Farenheit 451 had to spray the pyre with kerosene or fuel oil after initial ignition in addition to 15 liters of fire accelerent which was initially thrown on the pyre. It took 26:01 minutes for the Bööggs head to explode which indicates a poor weather summer.

In the 2 years we've lived here we've happened to miss the actual burning of the Boog. All our friends say it's the most bizarre spectacle to be seen with all these crazy horsemen running around the fire until the boog blows. In case you are wondering what you've been missing (and what we've been missing!) you can watch the video for yourself. I guess this means we are in for a rainy summer. Thanks alot Boog.