linda huber

Tag: Swiss traditions

  • Christmas Swiss-Style

    So what’s the difference? Quite a lot, especially if you believe in the magic of Santa Claus. He doesn’t come to Switzerland, you see. But let’s look at the entire festive season, starting with Advent. (We’ll ignore all the Christmas decs etc shops start putting up in October/November.) The first Christmassy thing in most homes…

  • Who brings your cat’s Christmas presents???

    This time next week… actually, by next Sunday, Christmas will be over here – we celebrate on the 24th in Switzerland. At some point late afternoon or early evening, the Christ-child brings not only the presents, but also the Christmas tree, and deposits them all in a corner of the living room while nobody’s looking.…

  • Cold Sophie… and new book

    It’s that time of year again. The Ice Saints, or Eisheiligen as they’re known in German. Each day of the year has its own saint, and the ice ones start on May 11th with Mamertus, and continue with Pancras, Servatius, and Boniface on the 12th, 13th and 14th, finishing off with Sophie on the 15th.…

  • Switzerland: The Böögg has spoken…

    Switzerland: The Böögg has spoken…

    It’s bad news, I’m afraid. This year, the Böögg’s head took ages to explode. And it fell off first. But let’s start at the beginning… Monday was Sechseläuten here in Switzerland – specifically, in Zürich. Sechseläuten is an old Spring Festival held every year on the third Monday in April – there’s a colourful and…