Switzerland has its fair share of festivities, whether national or regional, or secular or religious. I’ll be briefly discussing a few Swiss festivities below.
Secular Holidays
Swiss National Day
Swiss National Day is celebrated on the 1st of August, celebrating the founding of the Swiss Confederation back in 1291 when the three cantons of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden created an alliance among themselves. People in cities all around the country celebrate this holiday. Generally, each community on this day will start off with a public figure giving a speech, which is followed by music and gymnastic presentations and a community singing of the national anthem. Many buildings display national, cantonal, and community flags. Even bonfires are lit in many places. A food typically offered on this day are bread rolls with a small Swiss flag stuck in the center.
Some communities also have their own unique events on Swiss National Day. The Rhine Falls holds a special fireworks show, attracting thousands of people there every year. A public folk festival is held in the town of Zurich, displaying a diversity of Swiss customs to all attendants. Geneva holds multiple parties, offering local food trucks, sports, games, cultural speeches, parades, fireworks, and other lively performances. No matter where in the country, the Swiss come together to celebrate this lively day of unity (Expatica).
Religious Holidays
Fasnacht Basel
Swiss carnival season starts around February. Many communities hold their own festivals, typically on the Thursday before Lent, though several are known to start later. It is said that these carnivals began as a way to loosen up before Lent, drive away demons, as well as celebrate the end of winter. Fasnacht Basel, held in the town of Basel, is the largest and most famous carnival in Switzerland, usually held on the Monday after Ash Wednesday.
Fasnacht Basel is filled with costumes; festival attendees and bands dress in colorful themed costumes as a way to “hide” their identities. Bands play lovely melodies throughout the festival while Basel’s bars and restaurants become increasingly active. A main parade for families and children is usually held later during the carnival’s period. Basel also has lantern festivals during this time (Expatica).
Special carnival foods that Basel has to offer its participants include the Basler Fastenwähe (Basel fasting pie), which is a pretzel-like bread with cumin seeds on top, perfect for filling up on before the fasting period of Lent. Other specialties include Basler Mehlsuppe (Basel flour soup) and cheese and onion tarts (Little Zurich Kitchen).
Christmas
Much of Switzerland also celebrates Christmas on December 25th. Advent calendars are usually put up, and even large windows function as Advent calendars in Switzerland. Children are visited by Samichlaus (or St. Nicholas), who offers them treats such as tangerines, nuts, and gingerbread. Families and children also go out into the forest to find and cut down the perfect Christmas tree. Christmas trees are usually decorated and lit with candles. Presents are opened under the tree, and the tree usually stays up until New Year’s Eve to be lit up again. A religious family will also read a story from the Bible.
Food enjoyed at Christmas includes local sausages, either by eaten by themselves or wrapped in bread, as well as fondue, a longtime Swiss winter specialty. Christmas dinner consists of boiled ham, scalloped potatoes with cheese, walnut cake, and gingerbread cookies (Steves).
Swiss Food Customs 