On the night of 5 December, the eve of St Nicholas, around 1,200 men process through Küssnacht am Rigi in white smocks. At the front, whips are cracked in unison; then come the Iffelenträger, carrying enormous mitre-shaped paper headdresses, intricately cut and lit from inside by candles, up to two metres tall; then Saint Nicholas and his attendants; then ranks of cowbell ringers and hand-horn blowers, who produce a sustained drone audible for kilometres.
The street lights are switched off for the procession, so the Iffelen are the only light.
No attendance figure is published.
It begins at a quarter past eight on 5 December and runs past midnight. Küssnacht is twenty minutes from Lucerne and the village is at capacity; most visitors come by train and leave very late.
PlanningFixed on the night of 5 December, starting at 20:15 with a whipcrack and ending after midnight.