I have always been fascinated by traditions, folklore, and rituals. They allow us to connect with deep inner emotions and other people.
Rituals are part of nature, and not only in humankind; it is proven that animals perform ritualistic behaviors, like elephants that mourn their dead or chimpanzees dancing at waterfalls and heavy rains.
I feel that there is stored in all of us a kind of universal code, a simple truth that belongs not only to us but to a bigger self, not a god, but perhaps a shared consciousness that surrounds and inhabits everything alive.
I usually experience a connection of that kind when I witness the forces of nature or light and shadow phenomena. So, for example, when there is a storm, I get a rush of emotions, seeing the clouds full of power, when the lightning flash strikes my eyes, followed by the low rumble of thunder vibrating through the air and hitting my body. It takes me directly to childhood memories, but perhaps it also takes my subconscious to memories of my ancestors?
There is no scientific evidence that humans have genetic memory, as suggested above. However, I love to think that it still is a possibility.
I am writing about this because I experienced something of that type at the "Morgestraich" in Basel on the past 27th of February.
The Morgestraich is the beginning of the Basel carnival, "Fasnacht" or, as natives describe it, Drei scheenschte Dääg (the "three most beautiful days"), and it is the largest carnival in Switzerland.
With Celtic and Germanic origins, to ancestor worship, driving out winter and fertility rituals, it developed through time into a way of expressing resistance to repressive authorities, and it acquired the typical political and satirical character of nowadays, still traditions and rituals are held up today as they were centuries ago.
That day I rode my bike from Allschwil; the streets were empty, but the closer I got to Basel's center, the more bikes and people walking towards the old town I crossed. The trams were packed with people at 3:30 am, which made me immediately notice a different vibe in the city; it felt like we were all little ants going toward a giant sugar cube.
Everyone was looking for the perfect spot. When I found mine, I started to notice differences in people's behavior; natives were getting calmer and silent like a meaningful ceremony was about to start; on the other hand, some foreigners were ruining a bit the moment, being loud and laughing at the swiss people for wanting quietness, moments before 04:00 am. Why would someone want to break the magic of something special just for the sake of cheap fun?
04:00 am. The Magic Begins
I come from a country where power outages are expected due to storms, earthquakes, or damaged infrastructure. Still, it was scary whenever it happened, at least for me. However, this time, being in Basel with all the negative connotations out of the picture, I could see darkness with other eyes. I can imagine people talking about Morgestraich as a carnival of lights, but to me is all the opposite, it is a carnival where shadow becomes a beautiful and colossal queen, a celebration of darkness, where even the tiniest source of light becomes a powerful expression of love towards conquering the purest dark.
I am amazed at how our brain adapts to the environment and gives value to things depending on the situation. On a typical night with all the light pollution, I would never notice the tiny light of a ring doorbell, while in this situation, it became a lighthouse in a sea of shadows.
There is a moment when your mind starts to fantasize. The old town of Basel becomes a fairy tale, not a Disney one but an original tale from the Grimm brothers, beautiful and innocent but with that element of the grotesque and sinister. The cliques marching like a thread of fireflies, humanoid animals playing music, and hundreds of drummers in communion to break the skies, surrounded by a mantle of mystery, created an alternative reality of magic in the middle of the city.
From the dawn of men up until now and the following future, we have the potential to be connected among us through time and distance. Folklore, traditions, and rituals are a gate to access this possibility, to experience our world the same way our ancestors did. Therefore, we should enjoy the opportunity of knowing different cultures through their lore and take care of our own traditions and those of others as respectful witnesses. After all, I don't have any Celtic or Germanic roots, and I still managed to deeply connect with it due to that simple truth that belongs to all of us.
Nature, Light, shadow, stars, and dust are just reminders of moments when we were all one.