This tradition is more connected to Geneva’s history rather than it is to the environment around the city. There are multiple parades, usually three each day, where participants stop and give speeches at places like Mère Royaume’s house, the place where the Savoyards put their ladders, and at the Cathedral. There are some funny traditions like the chocolate marmite, which are decorated chocolate cauldrons filled with marzipan vegetables in honor of Mère Royaume. In every house, there is a chocolate cauldron, and the youngest and the oldest person in the home take hands over the cauldron and say “anise périssent les ennemis de la République!” or “Thus perished the enemies of the Republic!” and then smash the cauldron with their fists or a rolling pin or even a sword! All the Fulbright scholarship holders in Geneva were invited to a restaurant for Escalade and there was a chocolate cauldron to be smashed by the oldest (a man from Paraguay) and the youngest...me! We used a sword on this occasion!
There are people of all ages involved in the festival, all in costume. Children carry torches and sing Escalade songs for coins; teenagers are involved in the re-enactments such as climbing the walls of the Cathedral with Escalade ladders and playing in the marching bands; middle-aged people wheel around cannons and ride horses; and the elderly serve hot wine and keep the torches lit. At the end of the final night, everyone in Geneva gathers in front of the Cathedral and the biggest parade slowly arrives. The fire department builds an enormous bonfire, and the final speech of Escalade (“vive Genève!” “long live Geneva!”) is given by the leaders of the city.
