But why the Toupins ?
In the alpine zone (the name Alps comes from the Celtic word "alp",meaning mountain or summit) the Celtic economy was based on cattle breeding, which grew in importance with the development of cheese-making, already exported during Roman times.
Morgins has therefore found a symbol representing its bond to the past with the traditional big cowbell called "toupin". Not the bronze cowbell which shows more recent prosperity, but the original iron cowbell, widely used in Celtic Europe and forged by the local blacksmiths.
The Morgins toupins (bell-ringers) ring the cowbells through the village on the occasion of the winter and summer solstice, which represent the opening and ending of the winter season. They also participate as noisily as possible in the Swiss National Festival on the 1st August, without betraying their origins.
The Helvetian festival of the 1st August is celebrated on the same date as the Lugnasad festival, one of the four main Celtic festivals. In Lyon, which owes its name to the Celtic name "Lug", this religious festival was the occasion of a political gathering of all the tribes of Gaul and the Helvetians.
In the year 12AD, the Emperor Augustus decided that this festival was too Gaulish, and to make it more a Roman festival, he named the festival after himself. Two years later, after his death, the Roman Senate honoured Augustus in maintaining his name for the month following the festival. To emphasize their historical origins, the Morgins toupins wear the traditional Celtic garment, forerunner of the cowl, worn later by Christian monks throughout the Continent.
This symbolic combination, both visual and acoustic, represented by the Morgins Toupins, continues to portray the close ties of small mountain populations, following the lead of their ancestors - The Nantuates, having settled on a boundary, already chose to form friendly relationships with their neighbours, the Allobroges, long before the existence of Europe and the Portes du Soleil, and today that friendship continues between both regions.
Morgins has therefore found a symbol representing its bond to the past with the traditional big cowbell called "toupin". Not the bronze cowbell which shows more recent prosperity, but the original iron cowbell, widely used in Celtic Europe and forged by the local blacksmiths.
The Toupins are associated with the village life as a sign of partying and gathering together.
The Morgins toupins (bell-ringers) ring the cowbells through the village on the occasion of the winter and summer solstice, which represent the opening and ending of the winter season. They also participate as noisily as possible in the Swiss National Festival on the 1st August, without betraying their origins.
The Helvetian festival of the 1st August is celebrated on the same date as the Lugnasad festival, one of the four main Celtic festivals. In Lyon, which owes its name to the Celtic name "Lug", this religious festival was the occasion of a political gathering of all the tribes of Gaul and the Helvetians.
In the year 12AD, the Emperor Augustus decided that this festival was too Gaulish, and to make it more a Roman festival, he named the festival after himself. Two years later, after his death, the Roman Senate honoured Augustus in maintaining his name for the month following the festival. To emphasize their historical origins, the Morgins toupins wear the traditional Celtic garment, forerunner of the cowl, worn later by Christian monks throughout the Continent.
This symbolic combination, both visual and acoustic, represented by the Morgins Toupins, continues to portray the close ties of small mountain populations, following the lead of their ancestors - The Nantuates, having settled on a boundary, already chose to form friendly relationships with their neighbours, the Allobroges, long before the existence of Europe and the Portes du Soleil, and today that friendship continues between both regions.