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SWISS TRADITIONS

Which Swiss cantons don’t get public holidays over Easter?

When it comes to public holidays in Switzerland over Easter there are some cantons who don't have the usual days off.

Published: 1 March 2024 10:55 CET
Updated: 18 March 2024 12:21 CET
Which Swiss cantons don't get public holidays over Easter?
One canton in Switzerland has no public holidays over easter. Photo by Gabe Pierce on Unsplash

Whether you’re planning on making an Osterbäumli, smash eggs with friends and family, or bake an Easter Zopf, here are the Easter holidays and the cantons that celebrate them in Switzerland.

Friday March 29th: Good Friday

Almost all Swiss cantons (barring Ticino and Valais) recognise Good Friday as a public holiday. Good Friday is supposed to be a day of fasting and abstinence rather than a holiday in Catholicism, with Ticino being a Catholic canton.

However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any celebrations, with notable processions taking place through the streets of the village of Mendrisio in Ticino; while in Romont, Fribourg, the ceremony of the ‘Pleureuses’ takes place every year.

Sunday 31st March: Easter Sunday

Technically, Easter Sunday is also a national holiday. However, as is the case in Switzerland, due to it always falling on a Sunday, there’s no public holiday and you don’t get an extra weekday holiday in lieu.

On Easter Sunday in Switzerland, you can expect to see children hunting for brightly painted eggs and chocolate, and German-speaking Switzerland also has the ‘Eiertütsche’, which involves hitting two Easter eggs against each other.

Monday April 1st: Easter Monday

Easter Monday is also a national holiday in most of Switzerland, but not in Valais. 

Who gets the least holidays?

Commiserations if you work in Valais, the only one of Switzerland’s 26 cantons not to have any official holidays during the Easter period.

So bad luck for those workers who live in Valais although as the Valais4You websites makes clear: “Although days before or after the major Christian holidays such as Good Friday, Easter Monday and Whit Monday as well as Boxing Day are not official holidays in Valais, they can be granted as days off by individual employers.”

Joyeuses Pâques, Frohe Ostern and Buona Pasqua!

Have a read of how the Swiss celebrate Easter – including some of Switzerland’s more bizarre Easter traditions…

And if you’re planning your holidays beyond Easter, find out what other days you’ll be getting off work this year based on where you live in Switzerland.

READ ALSO: What days will get off work in Switzerland in 2024?

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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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