This Monday is Swiss National Day. Across the country the Swiss will be celebrating the 1291 defense Pact with nighttime torch parades, bonfires, fireworks, alphorns and of course lots of wine and cheese.
Photo credit: unkown.
Here in Geneva, the ville celebrations will be at Parc des Bastions and the Reformation Wall. Activities for families begin at 15:00 and the DJ starts playing at 22:00. For more information about the Ville de Genève celebrations click here.
Alternatively, you can celebrate Swiss National Day with your local commune. My commune’s evening starts off at dusk with the fire department’s children parade with lampions and oil torches, followed by the reading of the Grutli Pact and singing the (new?) national anthem. The grand finale is the lighting of the bonfire and lakeside fireworks. The community spirit of the celebrations is a fabulous experience.
Our Living in Geneva blog has written several posts about Swiss National Day if you would like more information about its history.
- Swiss National Day. 1st of August ( the significance of the 1291 Pact).
- The Swiss Path: Commemorating Swiss National Day (traveling to the heartland).
We are a group of international women living in Geneva, Switzerland. If you would like to join the AIWC, please visit our website at http://www.aiwcgeneva.org/
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