Chalandamarz in St. Moritz:
A Guide to Switzerland’s
Spring Festival

Today, the tradition continues in villages across the Engadin – gentler perhaps, but no less resonant. Children now lead the procession, gathering early in the morning dressed in blue farmers’ smocks, red pointed caps and neckerchiefs, and carrying bells of every size, from small talacs to weighty bronze plumpas. As they move through their town or village, they sing in Romansh, one of Switzerland’s oldest living languages. The verses speak poetically of melting snow, greening meadows and cows returning to pasture.

Each child has a role to play in the parade. The youngest, entrusted with lighter bells, are the calves; the older children, carrying the heaviest bells, are cows. At the front, the Senn – the herders – set the pace and lead the song. In some villages, older girls wear Engadin dresses, hand-embroidered with unique flower appliqués and passed down through generations, collecting small donations from those who pause to watch. Customs vary subtly from village to village, lending each procession its own personality.

Preparation and pride

Preparations begin weeks in advance. Paper and silk flowers – rösas – are made by hand and pinned carefully to costumes. Bells are sourced and compared; their size is a quiet point of pride. Since the publication of Selina Chönz’s beloved 1945 children’s book A Bell for Ursli – widely regarded as Switzerland’s most famous book after Heidi– the dream of carrying the biggest bell has become almost universal. Ursli’s snowy quest for his rightful place at the front of the parade has become inseparable from Chalandamarz itself.