Celebrating Carnival in Lucerne -- at 5:00 a.m.

Carnival in Lucerne (Luzern) kicks off in the wee hours of the Thursday before Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday.

In Switzerland, the trains run on time -- and Carnival kicks off in the pre-dawn hours of the Thursday before Mardi Gras (called "Schmotzig Donnschtig," Dirty Thursday), when a boat with sparklers on the gunwhales crosses Lake Lucerne. A mythical figure called Fritschi and his wife, Fritschene, disemark, accompanied by a nanny and a jester named Bajazzo. These characters were known as far back as the mid-15th century.

Imaginatively costumed musicians head for the medieval old town. There, as a cannon signals the time, Fritschi launches Carnival at 5:00 a.m. from the Rathaus (town hall) on a square called Kornmarkt. The narrow old streets and picturesque squares are filled with revelers of all ages, costumed and not, who wander around and celebrate. Food stalls, restuarants and bars open early to fuel the revelers. Bands of masked and costumed musicians, dancers and acrobats roam the Old Town streets. The dominant sound is Guggenmusig, merry oompah music played on such simple instruments as trombones, drums and other percussion instruments. The Fasnacht celebrants continue well into the day -- and would continue doing so until next Tuesday.

The costumes and the masks are phenomenal, both those worn by those who would march in the afternoon parade and onlookers: Mythical characters. Monsters. Monks. Mimes. Clowns. Canadian Mounties. Mountain guides. Men in kilts. Men in drag. Men in shorts. Astronauts. Angels. Devils. Butterflies. Bumblebees. Space aliens. Streetwalkers. Farmers. Farm animals. Soldiers. Sailors. Cowboys. Indians. Policemen. Pirates. Soccer players. Snowmen. Hunters. Prey. Elvises. Princesses. Costumed parents towing costumed toddlers in wagons or pushing them in strollers. Costumed parents pushing disabled youngsters, also costumed, in wheelchairs. Real old people. Young people in old-people costumes. Real babies. Grownups in baby costumes. And the crowd was merry and irreverent but not nasty or ugly. And that in itself is worth noting and celebrating.

My colleagues and I donned rented costumes that seem based on medieval man's garb -- green velvet pants with wide lace-up leather cuffs, white collared shirt that laces up at the neck and sleeves, bright brocade vest and long coat fastened with metal buckles. We wandered from square to square, listened to bands, watched a stage show and stopped at a bar/restaurant for hot schnapps and coffee. All before sunrise.

Switzerland being Switzerland, buses headed for the railroad station squeezed their way through the throngs to stick to their schedule. Right now, I'm in my room at the Hotel Schweizerhof (which has a temporary banner declaring it to be the Fritschihof). It is 10:00 a.m., give or take, local time. Bands have been playing nonstop for five hours. Later this afternoon, I'll head out again for the main Fritschi parade (I guess the early-morning processions were just a warm-up), where Fritschi, Fritschene and the rest parade along the lakefront, through the Old Town and around Löwenplatz and for some reason whose symbolism I don't yet know, fling oranges out to carousing onlookers.

Festivities stretch into the weekend and beyond. Saturday is “Rüüdig.” Monday is "Güdis Määntig" or Fat Monday. What we call by its French name, Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), is "Güdis Tseeschtig." Sorry that I won't be here --assuming that I would be sufficiently recovered from today's festivities to keep on partying, Lucerne-style.