The tradition of Escalade… a bit of Geneva History

L’Escalade, or Fête de l’Escalade (from escalade, the act of scaling defensive walls), is an annual festival in Geneva, Switzerland, held each December in celebration of the defeat of an attempt to conquer the Protestant city by the Catholic Duchy of Savoy. Troops sent by Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, attempted a surprise attack during the night of 11–12 December 1602, but according to legend, were repulsed by a cook who dumped boiling vegetable soup on the invaders before raising an alarm. The celebrations and other commemorative activities are usually held on 12 December or the closest weekend.

The tradition this day is that people get little chocolate marmites (where once was the boiling vegetable soup ) full of sweets and share them with family and friends. Thank you Mr Usher for sharing those with us. Who said History can’t be sweet??? 😀

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