Witches

Today is Fasching, that is, the day when a period prior to Lent begins. Over the centuries, this came to be known as the last day to really round out your load of sin before you had to think of repenting, and so many occultic traditions developed. Now, of course, it is just a cultural thing, or so they say.

Each Fasching, clubs from the surrounding towns mount a huge parade, with many carved wooden masks and eerie costumes.

In nearby Basel, my friend Ted Dick and I observed the piccolo parade. For that, one sets himself down on a square prior to 4 AM, just in time to see all the city lights switched off. Then columns of piccolo players - thousands in total - emerge from all the darkened side streets, carrying lanterns and playing the same melody over and over again. Quite a cool experience, though I'm not sure what the historical significance is.

Europe has always been a spiritually dark place, though it was through the centuries of darkness that the truth of Scripture was preserved by monks and monastic orders. One wonders what the spiritual future of Europe might be.