Following the parade of the Zünfte (guilds), the climax of the holiday is the burning of Winter in effigy, in the form of the Böögg, a figure of a snowman prepared with explosives.

A Böögg (cognate to bogey) was originally a masked character doing mischief and frightening children during the carnival season.

[1] In 1892 the guilds then received the responsibility of burning the effigy, but now it no longer represented some disaster, but rather the winter itself, which is why the doll nowadays resembles a snowman.

The roots of the festival go back to medieval times when the first day of summer working hours was celebrated in the guildhalls across the city.

[1] Burnings of Böögg figures (the Swiss German term for "bogey", in origin scary-looking ragdolls) in spring are attested in various places of the city from the late 18th and early 19th century, without direct connection to the Sechseläuten.

Because of the later date, and because of summer time introduced in 1981, the lighting of the Böögg's pyre at 6 p.m. has now moved to several hours before nightfall.

This proximity of the major festivals of two political poles of the society of Zürich has led to various interferences in the past, for example the abduction of the Böögg in 2006 by leftist "revolutionaries" a few days before the Sechseläuten.

[1] In 1943 the field was used to plant wheat, therefore the location of burning the Böögg was moved onto the dam in the port in Enge.

[1] In 2007, the explosion of the Böögg's head took place 12:09 minutes after the pyre was lit, promising a medium warm summer.

After approximately 20 minutes the head had burnt away completely, but leaving a large piece of the neck hanging from the stake.

To avoid crowds that could spread COVID-19 the Böögg was relocated to Schöllenen Gorge in the canton of Uri and burned outside Zurich for the first time in its history.

Additional events of the holiday nowadays also include: During this festival the popular march known as the Sechseläutenmarsch is played.