Fasnacht, or carnival, in Switzerland may not be quite the spectacle that its counterpart in Rio is, but anybody who thinks the Swiss are conservative and staid may be surprised at the festivities during this time of year. And unlike carnival in Rio, which is held at the peak of summer, the Swiss have to dress up a lot more warmly.

During the carnival season, participants let their hair down and enjoy life to the full. Masks and costumes help people take on a new identity while they parade through the streets, often playing musical instruments.

From canton to canton. It is normally just before or just after the beginning of Lent. The roots of the tradition are disputed: some people claim it goes back to a mixture of pagan spring festivals, Christian rites and secular folk customs. In some cantons, carnival is based on pagan traditions of using fearsome masks to chase away evil spirits.

Although carnivals were held in mediaeval times, in later centuries the authorities often saw them as subversive and tried to ban them. Carnivals as they exist today date back usually no further than the 19th century. Bern's modern carnival was introduced as recently as 1982.

Switzerland's biggest and best-known carnivals are held in Basel and Lucerne.

Basel

Fasnacht in Basel is one of the country's best known and most extravagant traditions. When the carnival gets underway in the early hours of the morning (the Morgenstraich) the streets of this northern Swiss city come alive with the sound of drumming, flute-playing and marching by masked and costumed figures.

The Morgenstraich traditionally starts on the Monday after Ash Wednesday, at 4 am precisely. Although the Fasnacht tradition can be traced back to the 14th century, the Morgenstraich was first given official approval in 1835. Participants would march through the city with torches - until these were banned ten years later - and then with lanterns. Today, all street lighting is turned off in the city during the Morgenstraich, to make way for the procession of large decorative lanterns.

The day continues much in the same vein, with music, processions, and plenty of noise. In addition, some cafés and restaurants provide a forum for the Schnitzelbank tradition: participants get up and spout satirical verses about a subject of their choice.

Like this tradition, many of the costumes worn at the carnival reflect current affairs and events.

Lucerne

The so-called "Fritschi-Fasnacht" in Lucerne has its origins in the Middle Ages and is based on the traditions of the "Fritschi" Guild. Carnival always begins with the arrival of the Fritschi Family on "schmutziger Donnerstag" ("dirty Thursday"). Dirty Thursday is celebrated only in Catholic cantons - as a concept, it is comparable to "Mardi Gras".