Räbechilbi, The Largest Turnip Parade in the World

The largest Räbechilbi festival in the world is held in Richterswil every year on the second Saturday in November. We took the train with friends to see the parade on Saturday, for the second time. The entire town turns off all electricity and over 52,000 candles are lit in over 30 tons of carved turnips (Räben). The parade starts at 18:30 and is a beautiful event with over 40 floats created by the candles inside the carved turnips.We hopped on a crowded train with standing room only and our friends squeezed in when we got to their stop. When we arrived in Richterswil, the full moon was absolutely gorgeous as it was a perfectly clear night. It was also much warmer than two years ago when we came for the first time, fresh off the plane from London. Now we have been to our daughter’s parade twice and this year both girls will sing and walk in our town’s parade!Before the parade began, we grabbed glühwein, raclette, sausages, and noodles to fill us up and keep us warm for the festivities. The townspeople all light the turnips in their window boxes creating a magical experience. This is like the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade of carved turnips. There are also many marching bands along the parade route. The floats are all made of glowing turnips and mainly pushed by the adults. The children carry their own lit turnip or carry it on top of a wooden plank in a group.When we first arrived in Zürich two years ago I was amazed at this entire parade. There were open flames held by four and five-year old children. The kids were wearing wool hats with the wool braids dangling down and almost catching on fire. Kids were walking for miles all alone in the dark with turnips filled with a lit candle. Would this happen in the USA?The parade ended around 7pm and we walked with the entire crowd back to the train. The train was very well organized and was longer than usual to fit us all in and take us home.When: Second Saturday of November
Time: 15:00 musicians begin at Paracelsus Hospital, 20 stalls open with Glühwein, sausages, and raclette
16:00 open air musicians begin on Poststrasse
18:25 first shot to switch off the lights
18:30 second shot to start the parade
20:00 final shot to switch on the lights
Where: Richterswil
Train: S8 or S2

Has your family been to Räbechilbi? Does your child have a Räbechilbi parade with their school?