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SWISS TRADITIONS

Seven traditional ways the Swiss celebrate the new year

Switzerland has some fascinating and unique ways to mark this time of new beginnings. We rounded up a few of the celebrations going on around the country, to help you celebrate the start of 2024 like the Swiss.

Published: 30 December 2022 14:38 CET
Updated: 28 December 2023 12:43 CET
Seven traditional ways the Swiss celebrate the new year
The "Hotschrennen" in Klosters on New Year's Day, involves racing piglets for good luck. Photo: Unsplash, Christopher Carson

The Swiss mark New Year’s with everything from racing piglets (yes, you read that right) to silent processions around a church – so there’s something for nearly everyone’s fancy.

The Piglet Race in Klosters

We had to start with this one.

Located in the mountains near Davos in Canton Graubünden, you can take in a piglet race near the main station in the village of Klosters. Called the Hotschrennen in the local dialect, it happens around 3:00 pm each year on New Year’s Day, giving you some extra incentive to get moving after the night before. The race is said to bring luck in the new year to all who watch it. Eight piglets will run in 2023. You can also enter a raffle to win prizes like skis and get yourself a free aperitif. Find out more about it here.

 

New Year’s Eve Guided Walk in St. Gallen

If you find yourself in St. Gallen, you can register for an end-of-year sightseeing walk through the Mülenen Gorge with professional guides. During the torchlit walk, you’ll hear plenty about local traditions and stories for both New Year’s Eve and for wintertime in general. You’ll also get a hot drink at the end to warm up.

Starting at 5:00 pm on New Year’s Eve and lasting around two hours, you can take in the tour and still have plenty of time for festivities later. Registration is mandatory, and you can find out more here.

Silent disco party at Lausanne’s Place Centrale

It’ll look like you’re dancing to your own beat, but only to those who can’t hear the music. Guests at Lausanne’s Bo Noel on New Year’s Eve each receive a pair of high-quality headphones with three channels to choose from – each one with a different DJ so you can dance to the beat of your choice while partying – in relative silence – with everyone else. If you’re the more traditional type, you might want to just take in the organ at the nearby cathedral. Right at midnight, you’ll be treated to a proper light show to bring in 2023. Find out more here.

The Chant de Goita in Bergün

The mountains of Graubünden make our list again for something that can seem festive, yet eerie at the same time. From around 10:00 pm, local singers gather in the Oberdorf and belt out both old Roman and old German New Year’s songs, just as they’ve been doing at this time of year for over 100 years. Sporting lanterns in 17 different locations, the singers keep going for almost two hours before finishing at the end with a famous finale song: “Ün mumaint e l’ura batta” or “just a few more seconds.” As the title suggests, that’s when the final countdown to the new year starts. Find out more here.

Singing at the Rheinfelden Fountain

If 100 years of singing tradition sounds like a long time, that’s nothing to the people of Rheinfelden near Basel. Residents have been gathering at the town fountain to sing every New Year’s Eve since 1541.

The tradition didn’t begin happily, as the townspeople then gathered to sing holy Christmas carols in an attempt to pray and ward off a plague that was rapidly sweeping through the area at the time. Now, twelve hooded singers first go on a parade through the town before stopping to sing at the fountain, before an organ concert at the church brings the new year in. the Brunnensingen, as it’s known, starts around 9:00 pm on New Year’s Eve. You can find out more here.

Laupen drives away evil spirits in colourful masks

The Achetringele in Laupen near Bern is certainly one of the most colourful Swiss New Year traditions. A parade of rowdy men dressed up in colourful and sometimes frightening masks goes through the city on New Year’s Eve to drive malevolent spirits out of the town.

In front, you’ll find men holding long brooms. They’ll be followed by some ringing cowbells in the air before finally, men holding air-filled pig bladders end off the procession. Originally celebrated on winter solstice and then Christmas, a local priest eventually suggested moving the event to New Year’s Eve. It starts around 8:00 pm and you can find out more here.

READ ALSO: Geneva news roundup: Where to celebrate New Year’s Eve with a bang

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SWISS TRADITIONS

EXPLAINED: Why is Switzerland so famous for watches?

Watches are considered as quintessentially Swiss as chocolate. But how did that become the case?

Published: 10 April 2024 11:47 CEST
EXPLAINED: Why is Switzerland so famous for watches?

Switzerland is considered the centre of the global wristwatch trade, with several of the world’s largest and most exclusive manufacturers based there.

However, this was not where the watch trade was born. 

In the 16th century, portable, wearable clocks, usually worn on a chain around the neck, first appeared in the German cities of Nuremberg and Augsburg. 

Both cities were known for precision instruments related to the weapons and surveying trades.

Several advances in metallurgy in these two cities enabled the creation of working, albeit somewhat unreliable, clock movements that could be carried around. 

READ MORE: Cuckoo clocks and Toblerone: The ‘Swiss’ products that are not actually Swiss

Soon, these were luxury items – and in fierce demand across Europe. 

Shortly afterwards, another momentous historical event occurred that would enable Switzerland’s dominance of the watch trade. 

An industry is born

As the Protestant Reformation exploded across Europe, French Protestants – known as Huguenots – were driven from France by the Catholic monarchy. 

Many of these Huguenots crossed to Switzerland and settled in Geneva, bringing their skills as metalworkers and jewellers. 

At this time, the city of Geneva was under the control of the reformer John Calvin and his supporters.

Calvin was a strict and austere man who had forbidden displays of flashy jewellery in the city. Thus, many Huguenots retrained as watchmakers to circumvent the religious laws that were rigorously enforced. 

Necessity breeds innovation, and within decades, the first clunky, inaccurate wearable clocks were replaced by far more advanced, smaller timepieces. 

READ MORE: Geneva watch fetches $21 million at auction

Throughout the 17th century, the pocket watch became incredibly popular, owned in large numbers by the nobility. 

Several large mercantile companies appeared in the 18th century, and the merchant class also began carrying them. 

To meet this surge in demand, timepiece manufacturing spread beyond Geneva to several nearby cantons, such as Neuchâtel and Jura. 

At this time, the country’s oldest still-existing watch manufacturer, Blancpain, was founded in 1735. Breguet, another titan of the watchmaking industry, was founded in 1775.  

The first wristwatch 

By the 19th century, the Swiss clock and timepiece industry had achieved almost total dominance, only rivalled by England and parts of Germany. 

This is due to the development of the etablissage system. Family firms in various villages and towns would be responsible for creating standardised watch parts, which would then be assembled by watch firms in the larger cities. 

Inventing the self-winding mechanism also played a huge role in furthering the influence of Swiss watchmaking. 

Such a system streamlined the production process and meant that watches could consistently be produced without waiting for specific parts to be available.

Many believe that Abraham-Louis Breguet created the first wristwatch in 1810 for Caroline Bonaparte, Queen of Naples and sister of Napoleon.  

READ MORE: Napoleon’s locks to be put in Geneva watches

This led to a fashion trend, and by the mid-19th century, women would wear bracelets that included a timepiece. 

Many new luxury brands, such as Patek Philippe in 1839, emerged to cater to this market. 

Men’s wristwatches would follow later – prompted by military men requiring something to use to time manoeuvres in the field. 

The Swiss watch industry continued to expand throughout the 20th century, weathering the development of quartz movements in Japan and several other threats to its dominance. 

Today’s Swiss watch industry

In 2024, the Swiss watch industry will contribute around 26.5 billion francs to the country’s economy, with just four companies—Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Richard Mille—comprising almost half the market share. 

Around 700 wristwatch makers operate across Switzerland today, catering to luxury and specialist markets. 

Despite competition from other countries, such as Japan and the United States, the country is still viewed as a centre of innovation and excellence. 

READ MORE: Swiss watches rebound to beat the pandemic blues

Many firms emphasise bespoke, hand manufacturing as their strength in creating excellent timepieces. 

This perhaps explains the prices that some Swiss watches can command —some Patek Phillipe models, for example, have sold for more than 20 million euros! 

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