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A girl smoking at a cattle show in Appenzell, Switzerland. “Appenzell is a beautiful and very odd place. It’s a tiny rural town in the east of Switzerland, built in the 16th century. Here, all the cliches are true: the fondue and the yodelling, the pink cows and the magnificent ski slopes. It’s also a place with very local habits. They still celebrate the new year according to the Julian calendar. And every October, they hold the Viehschau cattle show – a beauty show, but for cows. I first visited it in 2013. As soon as I started taking photographs, I noticed that many of the younger kids were passing around cigarettes, smoking one after another. They weren’t misbehaving; their parents were around and they all seemed comfortable with it. Letting your children smoke at the cattle show is a long-standing custom, I learnt. Kids as young as six do it. Appenzeller people are quite strong-minded. I have tried to ask why they let their children smoke, but no one has ever given me a clear explanation. I think most of the parents hope their kids will find it disgusting and won’t do it when they’re older. Or maybe they feel they should treat their children as equals on this special occasion. As far as I know, it only happens here, and only at that particular time of year. The adults grew up with the custom and now no one questions it”. (Photo by Jiří Makovec)
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