The Swiss Santa Claus Comes on December 6

The Swiss Santa “Samichlaus” arrives on December 6 without a sleigh or reindeer, but with a donkey and a companion and nuts, filled gingerbreads and mandarins in a burlap bag. Christmas presents will be delivered by the “Christkind” Christ Child. Santa Claus comes to judge the Swiss children to see…

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Unusual Swiss Chocolate Creations

It does not come as a surprise to me that Switzerland has one of the highest chocolate consumptions in the world. I love Swiss chocolate and early on found out which brands were my favorite. By the way it is Migros (Frey) chocolate and not the main brand ones. Also…

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What is Swiss Folkmusic?

Growing up in Switzerland I did not like Swiss folkmusic. They call it ‘Ländler’ as its origins are from the country folk (land) and yes, yodeling is included in that. I always found it old-fashioned and backwards. My parents weren’t to keen on it either. But to my surprise my…

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Funniest Google Street Views in Switzerland

Unless you have been living under a rock, you must be familiar with Google Street View. Now, I have to admit that I waste a lot of time simply browsing the world, but there are many other creative uses for Street View as well: Artistic inspiration for painters Virtual sightseeing for cheapos Unique material for […]

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Swiss Styles – Which Type Are You?

Having grown up in Switzerland, I had formed my own definition of what “Swissness” is supposed to look like. However, returning to my home country after many years abroad resulted in that definition to have evolved. I now think that it is normal for expats to perceive their home country differently while living abroad. For […]

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Some Silly (but Real) Questions about Switzerland

Every question is a good question. That’s what they tell you in school, but we could not believe some of the silly questions about Switzerland posed on a website dedicated to, uhm, answering questions. So in an attempt to entertain, we are taking a stab at providing our own answers! General Confusion Q: Who discovered […]

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Swiss Folklore – Fulehung

Fulehung – The Jester with the Devil’s Mask Now looking back to my childhood, I realize that I grew up with Swiss Native culture, too. My father was from the Canton of Bern and had a special mask called the “Fulehung”. The mask is worn by the “Fulehung” or chester…

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Pile Dwelling Villages in Lake Constance

As a student in Grade 2, the school took us on our annual class trip to the reconstructed “Pfahlbau Dorf” Pile Dwelling Village of Unteruhldingen” in the Lake of Constance. I can remember it to this day like it was yesterday. It made a very big impression on me and…

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From Garbage Can Lid to Mask

One day the local hardware store had a garage sale and we found that we could get only garbage can lids without the cans. Our lids seem to always crack, probably because of our climate. We bought two kinds of lids and one kind fit and the other didn’t. Now…

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The Native American Zodiac

I came across this listing in a newsgroup and checked out the site where it came from and decided to place the info here. The info is from the book “Earth Medicine, a Shamanic way to Self Discovery” by Kenneth Meadows. Find your sign in the Native American Zodiac March…

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