Switzerland festvals

Street-Parade is a three day festival that involves dancing in the streets in gorgeous costumes. It is celebrated in August. Sechselauten is Zurich’s spring festival. festival is a parade through the city centre by the city’s traditional guilds, dressed in costume. The festival culminates at 6pm precisely with the burning of the Böögg – an effigy stuffed with fireworks – on Sechseläutenplatz next to Bellevue, to symbolize the end of winter. Festival Lichterschwimmen is celebrated a week before Christmas. It involves floating of candles from Rathuusbrucke on to river Limmat.

Lausanne’s biggest party is the Festival de la Cité held in early July. There are live performance of all kinds – music, dance, drama, mime, and more. Festival Jazz is celebrated in Lausanne in March. Fête du Soleil, Lausanne’s version of carnival held each April. Flon’s Atlantis Festival falls in May involves musical celebration with dances. In the mid of june the music is on streets and bars to celebrate Fête de la Musique. Paleo Rock Festival held in July in a field outside Nyon. Dance festivals held in late September. The Bach Festival, held throughout Lausanne over two weeks in early November.




Christmas and New Year are the main festival celebrated with great enthusiasm. The week before Christmas, children dress up and visit homes with small gifts. Bell ringing has become a tradition, and each village competes with the next when calling people to midnight mass. People gather to share huge homemade doughnuts called ringli and hot chocolate. People wait for The Swiss wait for the Christ child called Christkindli, to arrive with gifts. In Zurich, Santa visits in a special fairytale tram and gives the children a ride through the city, singing songs with them and sharing a basket full of sweets. In Switzerland, the Chlausjagen Festival or Feast of St. Nichohlas is celebrated at dusk on 6 December with a procession of "lifeltrager' wearing gigantic illuminated lanterns in the shape of a Bishop's mitre on their heads.