Chrööpfelimee Singen (26.02.2012)

This tradition goes back a long way, and has developed considerably over the years before becoming as we know it today. Tracing back its beginnings, it appears that during the carnival celebrations, a young man would meet and take a fancy to a girl on the dance floor and wish to court her. If the girl returned the affection, at the end of the dance she would give him the apron that protected her dress. By doing this she not only indicated that she reciprocated his feelings, but she was also inviting him to her parents` house on Carnival Sunday. At the house, the young man would be offered wine and "Chroopfe" - special little cakes - and when his friends heard about this, they would sing all kinds of teasing songs outside the girl`s window. Today, the couple thanks the singers with wine and cake, which they lower down from the window in an ornately decorated basket on a rope. If the singers don`t feel they have been given enough cakes, they call out for "even more" - "no meh Chröpfeli" (Chrööpfelimee).

Today the tradition has developed to such an extent that the couples and the groups register with an organiser, who co-ordinates the visiting, the groups and the route. For several years now the singers have written their own libretto and their own music specifically for the occasion. What is unique about this custom is that it is limited to the centre of the town of Zug and is not known in any other part of Switzerland nor in the neighbouring countries.

>>VIDEO CHRÖPFELIMEH SINGEN 2010