Silvesterchlausen Urnaesch

In Urnaesch, groups of costumed Chlaeuse visit farms and households on New Year's Eve, ringing huge bells strapped to their backs and performing a wordless yodel believed to bring good luck. The custom happens twice each winter, on 31 December by the standard calendar and again on 13 January, Altjahrsend, following the older Julian calendar Appenzell kept informally. Three distinct Chlaeuse types, from elaborately costumed to built entirely of natural materials, each require years of skill to perform correctly.

In Urnaesch, a village in Appenzell Ausserrhoden, New Year's Eve unfolds twice each winter, on 31 December by the standard Gregorian calendar and again on 13 January, a date locals still call Altjahrsend, or old year's end, following the Julian calendar that much of Appenzell continued to observe informally long after the rest of Switzerland switched.