Berchtold's Day Holiday in Switzerland

About Berchtold's Day: The Berchtold's Holiday in Switzerland is celebrated on January 2 is also one of the Alemannic tradition and is a celebration only in some areas of Switzerland. The Berchtold's holiday is a day off for the general population and school along with the businesses are also closed and is a day to mark as a light-hearted, sociable event. The people on this day meet in pubs along with restaurants and then exchange good wishes for the new year. The old tradition which has been discontinued and the protestant reformation are still being kept alive. The Berchten is derived from the verb which means "to walk around and asking for food".

How Celebrate Berchtold's Day: The Haliwil which is in the Canton of Aargau can also witness within the Barzeli and the people go for parade and masked with figures which symbolizes the concept like age, fertility, ugliness, wisdom and the vice. The day is found to be a public holiday in the following Cantons which are as follows: Aargau, Bern, Fribourg, Glarus, Jura, Lucerne, Neuchatel, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, Thurgau, Vaud, Zug and Zurich. The Berchtold's Day also commemorates Duke Berchtold V of Zahringen (d. 1218) also who founded Bern, as the capital of Switzerland during the twelfth- century. The legend says that he also left on hunt after declaring the would name by his fledgling city after the first animal was killed by him.

In spite of many references given to St, Berchtold's day he was not considered a Saint and "the Berchtold's day Holiday in Switzerland" is considered a light-hearted family oriented celebration. The "Nut feast" is another aspect which is associated with the holiday as the children begin to hoard supplies of nuts in early autumn for Berchtold's day and the children make nut hocks. The feast of nuts engineering which may appear simple, is actually difficult as along with getting into construct and then maintain as it is about placing the nuts on each other.

The Duke who named the city Bern is said to kill a squirrel and not a bear and is considered most likely to be appropriate from much of the older winter custom. The "Saint" in the name of holiday where the history is not informed through any Saint Berchtold. The word may also got added simply out of the habit while seeing others in holidays as dedicated to the remembrance of Saints and also because the meaning of "Berchtold" has become obscure. The other theories which is about "Saint Berchtold's Day" also got started where some say that it is an Alemmanic word which also means "to walk about begging for food" and it implies that the drear, hungry winter months is also inspired by the same.

Although, the holiday accounts for the celebration of Saint Berchtold's Day it also waned following the Swiss reformation for the protestants disfavoring to celebrate epiphany and thus tweaking the date to 2nd January makes the compensation for an extra holiday after 1st of January.

 

Berchtold's Day Festival Date and Day

2019 Festival Date: Wednesday, 2 January

2020 Festival Date: Thursday, 2 January

2021 Festival Date: Saturday, 2 January

2022 Festival Date: Sunday, 2 January

2023 Festival Date: Monday, 2 January

2024 Festival Date: Tuesday, 2 January

2025 Festival Date: Thursday, 2 January

Type : Cultural

Frequency: Annual