The town of Basel, in a corner of Switzerland where its borders meet Germany and France, was the home of Erasmus, whose 16th century text In Praise of Folly is important to an understanding of the ethos of carnival. It has its own particular tradition of masking for Fasnacht. A predominently Protestant town, Basel celebrates the carnival season a week later than in Catholic towns, taking advantage of an old calendrical dispute over how to count the days of the lenten season. Hundreds of masking clubs, or Cliques, each determine their theme for the year and commission new papier mache masks from mask factories in Basel. While some of these masks will be variations of traditional designs, others will be very innovative, and are frequently linked to satiric commentaries of current events. Many of the masks are made so as to facilitate the playing of musical instruments, since the Basel maskers also play fife and drum or "Guggli" music. It is estimated that 10,000 maskers participate in the four days and nights of celebration.