Fête de l'Escalade

The Fête de l'Escalade (French for "Climbing Festival") is an annual festival held every December in Geneva to celebrate the defeat of the surprise attack by troops sent by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy on the morning of 11-12 December 1602. It is held in the Old City, so all the streets are closed and the buses and trams do not run. Part of the celebration is a "marmite" (pot) filled with chocolate and marzipan fruits and sweets wrapped in the colours of Geneva: red and yellow. And, of course, the festival-goers enjoy drinks of hot wine. Since 1926, it has become an annual tradition that has led local people, both children and adults, to dress as Genevan soldiers and dress in other clothing of the time.