This year in the disaster-stricken Lötschental, the traditional Tschäggättä procession did not start in the Swiss village of Blatten, but in Wiler. Despite a lingering sense of grief, the people of the valley are doing their utmost to keep the custom alive. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox The parade of scary masks, bells, skins and furs began at around 9:15pm on Thursday evening in the snowy streets of Wiler. Decked out in their scary, grimacing faces, dozens of Tschäggättä marched to the village of Ferden under the watchful eye of the public, as is the carnival tradition in the valley. However, the usual starting point for the procession – or "Tschäggättu-Loif" in the Upper Valais dialect – is Blatten, which is now covered in debris following a landslide last May. It is "painful" for the local population that the event cannot be held there, Lilian Ritler, marketing manager at the Lötschental Tourist Office, told the Swiss news Agency Keystone-ATS.
