Christmas is a huge holiday for the city of Zürich. Due to the lack of holidays in the previous months, Christmas preparations start in October. In the last weeks of October holiday lights start to be put up all over the city. Mid-November is marked by the presence of christmas trees inside most academic and government buildings, as well as in malls, squares, and other public spaces. In major shopping areas there are often carolers or choir groups singing holiday songs, and shops decorate with snowflakes, stars, and lights. Starting from November 24th through Christmas, there are Christmas markets throughout the city. These markets consist of shops selling fondue, hot chocolate, and other warm foods and have merry-go-rounds and ice skating. They’re covered in lights and very picturesque. Christmas is a huge holiday throughout Switzerland. Because of the snow and the mountains it is very popular to cross country ski or drive out to small villages near the city and drink and celebrate.
In general, Christmas celebrations feel a lot more communal here than in America. Because of the surroundings and the traditions the holiday is a lot more about family, community, eating, drinking, and celebrating rather than shopping and gifts. In America, Christmas feels more like a family affair, whereas here it’s about friends and the entire community and neighborhood, which leads to a lot more general merriment. The holiday festivities make everyday in November and December feel a lot more exciting.
In general, the Swiss love the winter holidays. Besides Christmas, Switzerland has 2 new years, one on the old calendar, one on the modern. In the cities, they tend to only celebrate the modern new year; however, in the smaller villages, they still practice both holidays with the traditional new year’s yodeling that I mentioned in a previous blog post. This is mainly centered around tourism at this point; however, it is still a welcomed tradition in most villages, and not seen as a touristy event. The yodeling is absolutely gorgeous and probably the best live entertainment I’ve seen while in Switzerland. It sounds nothing like what is traditionally thought as yodeling and really plays off the echoes of the mountains and fits the winter scenery well.