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SWISS TRADITIONS

Throwing sausages and smoking children: Switzerland’s five weirdest festivals

Although Switzerland is a small country, its culture is diverse and, at times, surprisingly quirky. Here are five wacky traditions you may have not known about — until now.

Published: 29 July 2021 17:02 CEST
Updated: 23 September 2021 10:51 CEST
Throwing sausages and smoking children: Switzerland’s five weirdest festivals
People throw sausages from windows in the Eis-zwei-Geissebei carnival in Rapperswill. Photo: Wikiwand/Wikicommons

In a previous article, we established that the Swiss do actually have a sense of humour.

This is reflected in some decidedly off-the-wall ways that people across Switzerland celebrate various regional holidays.

These five from various regions of the country go above and beyond the usual folkloric displays of yodelling, alphorn playing, and flag waving.

Some of them are related to things many of us think of as quintessentially “Swiss” — such as cattle and guns— while others, well, they just sound like a real barrel of fun.

Cow fighting in Valais

In a country with a pacifist reputation, the cows can get quite combative.

The Hérens breed of cattle, which are specific to some regions of Valais, are known for their sense of hierarchy and feisty nature.

They take no bull from anyone. 

Only one can be crowned as queen, so while the spectators cheer from the stands, the cows literally lock horns in their fight for supremacy within the herd, canton, and even the nation, in what has become an annual event held in the spring in the appropriately named Val d’Hérens.

Photo by Valais Tourisme

READ MORE: EXPLAINED: Why are cows so important in Switzerland?

Knabenschiessen, Zurich

Each September, the sound of gunfire resounds around Switzerland’s largest city.

It is just a bunch of teenagers doing what comes naturally to nearly every Swiss: sharpshooting.

But there’s nothing worrying about it, as the 12- to 16-year-olds are participating in Knabenschiessen (don’t try to pronounce it ), the world’s largest youth rifle competition.

It is one of the oldest in Switzerland, dating back to the 17th century — well before Switzerland’s other weapon, the army knife, was invented.

While the sight of youngsters walking around with rifles slung across their shoulders may alarm some people, it shouldn’t. This is, after all, Switzerland, where guns are as much a part of culture as cheese, chocolate and…fighting cows.

A registration for Knabenschiessen from 1925. Photo: Creative Commons/Wikimedia/Von Paebi – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0,

Pfingstbluttlern, Basel-Country

Scaring your fellow villagers sounds like loads of fun and residents of Ettingen, a community in Basel-Country, have taken this practice to a whole new level.

So much so that Pfingstbluttlern (again, don’t try to pronounce it) is now a local tradition, part of a little-known ancient fertility ritual.

Simply put, during the Pentecost, local men dress up as bushes, parade around town, accost women, and dump them in fountains, all in the name of fun and tradition. 

Hey, what’s not to like?

The Federal Office of Culture

Funkensonntag, Appenzell

If the name of this holiday sounds like “Funky Sunday”, it’s because it is.

What it actually means is “Spark Sunday”, so named after an old custom in which communities around Appenzell competed to see who can produce the greatest spark.

But what is actually funkier (and at least as dangerous) than setting fire to bales of straw is children lighting up cigarettes.

Children are allowed to smoke cigarettes and cigars for the duration of the festival, but need to pack the smokes away when the festival is over. 

As you can probably see from the images, they certainly enjoy it. 

These days, the Funkensonntag is a cattle festival held in October — the only such event in Switzerland (and possibly elsewhere as well) where children are allowed to smoke.

Nobody actually knows how this custom originated or why it is still allowed, but it is probably one of the weirdest. 

Children in Appenzell in traditional clothing (presumably waiting to light up). Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Eis-Zwei-Geissebei, St. Gallen

Most people in Switzerland eat sausages, not toss them out the window.

Except in Rapperswill, canton St. Gallen, where the sausage-tossing is an actual tradition, believed to date back to the siege and destruction of the town on February 24th,1350.

Basically, each year on that day the windows of the town hall open and a council member asks “Sind alli mini Buebe doo?” (Are all my boys here?).

Hundreds of expectant children gathered in front of the building shout back “Ja! Eis, zwei, Geissebei!“(Yes, one, two, goat-leg), after which sausages and other foods are tossed out of the window.

We don’t know whether the children then light up their cigarettes or get their guns and go shooting.

There you have it — five truly weird Swiss traditions you should know about (though you may wish you didn’t).

READ MORE: Eight unwritten rules that explain how Switzerland works

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LIVING IN SWITZERLAND

What shocks Americans most about Switzerland?

When they first arrive, many foreigners find Swiss ways difficult to get used to. But some first-time American visitors have their own very steep learning curve, writes Swiss-based American journalist Helena Bachmann.

Published: 22 September 2023 15:28 CEST
What shocks Americans most about Switzerland?

People in America are accustomed to certain things that are rare, or inexistant, in Switzerland. That’s why some of their discoveries about the country are positive, while others less so.

It all depends on how “set” they are in their American ways, and how open (or not) they are to new and different experiences.

We are not referring to ‘usual’ peeves like high prices, early store closures, quiet Sundays, and recycling culture that many foreigners complain about. 

There are some other aspects of Swiss life that can sometimes shock and surprise first-time American visitors.

Here are some of the most common ones: 

Switzerland is not Sweden

Yes, it does sound a bit ‘old’ by now, but there are still some Americans who believe Switzerland and Sweden are one and the same.

They don’t necessarily prefer one over another; they just mix them up, with the only reason being the first two letters are the same and they both are in Europe.

It is useless to point out geographical and other differences right away. They will eventually have  a ‘Eureka’ moment on their own, when they realise that one is cheese and chocolate, and the other IKEA.

There is no ‘Swiss’ language

While most Americans know before they land here that Switzerland is a multi-lingual country (just as they know this is not Sweden), others are still mighty surprised that there is not one main language.

And a few even consider it an affront when someone will not speak English to them.

There is no Walmart

Maybe not specifically Walmart, but the lack of huge malls shocks some Americans.

That’s not only because they think this curtails the shopping opportunities, but mostly because in the US, malls also serve as social venues — places where people hang out, sit in a food court, and power-walk for exercise.

Food portions in restaurants are small

If you have ever eaten in a US restaurant, you know the portions are humongous.

This is what people expect also when they travel abroad; small, human-sized portions served in Switzerland mean they are not getting good value for their money and feel, in a sense, ‘cheated.’

Hey, where is the rest of it? This portion would not satisfy some Americans. Image by Snag Eun Park from Pixabay

By the same token — small portions in supermarkets

Many Americans are stunned that there are no huge, family-sized food and beverages sold in grocery stores — such as a gallon bottles of coke or 2-pound bags of potato chips.

Whether this is because families are larger in America or simply because people there are used to eating more — make of it what you will.

But that’s not all: size really does matter to Americans

Just as they are stunned by small portions in restaurants and supermarkets, they are also surprised by the size of appliances — and especially ovens — in Swiss homes.

As one American woman told her Swiss hostess, “This is just slightly bigger than my daughter’s toy oven. How do you bake a Thanksgiving turkey in it?”

No air-conditioning

Widespread in the United States but non-existent in Switzerland, this is one phenomenon that some Americans have a hard time accepting.

Not only that, but the rules here are blatantly anti-air condition and pro-sweat.

When you tell some Americans the government believes ACs are energy-guzzlers and bad for the environment in general, they will look at you like all Swiss are crazy (and will probably wish they were in Sweden instead).

No free refills

Ah yes. For some Americans accustomed to having bottomless cups of coffee or free soda refills, having to pay each time you order a drink is a shock.

Even more so, as coffee portions here are smaller than the ones from Starbucks, this again feeds into their belief that the people here are being starved and cheated.

No ice

Drinks are not routinely served with ice cubes, even on very hot days.

If you want ice in your coke or ice tea — as most Americans are bound to — you must ask for it. Three or four ice cubes will then be brought to you in a small glass, with a spoon for scooping.

Did anyone say ‘culture shock’?
 

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