We first begin hearing of the schön-schiach dichotomy somewhere in the mid-19th century. By the time the Tafelperchten appear in the last decades of that century, the duality was more commonly recognized. The arrival of such heavy, awkward headdresses naturally changed the pace and feel of the Perchtenlauf from earlier surprise attacks by roughly costumed devils to what a chronicler described in 1892 as “measured and dignified.” This newfound dignity can also be associated with economic class, as pointed out by Salzburg folklorist Karl Adrian, who in 1908 noted that only the wealthier farming families could really afford to produce the elaborate Tafelkappen. The visual appeal of the caps naturally also helped mold the tradition as one associated with the daytime as such intricate handiwork would be wasted in the darkness.
A similar evolution occurred in Switzerland with the Silvesterchläuse or “New Year’s Nicholases” still found in the hinterlands of the Canton of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden. The Silvesterchläuse are men and male youths wearing huge bells and ornate costumes who go door to door around the New Year to offer seasonal blessings and yodel traditional songs characterized by mesmerizing slow-shifting harmonies.
There are three styles of Silvesterchläuse, the “beautiful” Schöchläus wearing doll-like masks, baroque handcrafted headgear decorated with scenes of peasant life, elaborately embroidered folkloric dress, and simple, doll-like masks. The Schö-Wüeschte (“pretty-ugly”) wear similar, though slightly less ornate headgear and are costumed in massive suits assembled from evergreen boughs, moss, and ivy, and sometimes featuring mosaic panels assembled from pine cones, bark, acorns, and snail shells. The Wüeschte (“ugly”) wear more voluminous costumes of wilder appearance along with mask and headpieces but of the same natural materials.