Uncertain weather forecasts disrupt August 1st celebrations
Published: Tuesday, Jul 30th 2024, 16:40
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The uncertain weather forecasts for Thursday have prompted organizers of August 1st celebrations to take action. Certain celebrations, such as the bonfires on the Churfirsten, will be brought forward, or festivities will be moved indoors, as the organizers announced on Tuesday.
The sunshine and high temperatures will end for the time being on Thursday. In the second half of the day of the national holiday, widespread and sometimes heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected, according to the national weather service MeteoSwiss. Even squalls are possible.
The organizers of the bonfires on the Churfirsten in the canton of St. Gallen, for example, want to light the piles of wood at short notice on Wednesday evening, as they announced. If the weather doesn't cooperate, the fires will be lit later. Several helpers had already hauled around five cubic meters of wood to the seven peaks.
In the canton of Graubünden, the municipal federal celebration in Chur on August 1 will be held indoors due to uncertain weather forecasts. The organizing committee decided to move the celebrations from a meadow to the hall in the city center.
The mass on the Gotthard Pass in central Switzerland on the morning of August 1 was also canceled. It will now take place in the morning in the church in Airolo TI.
On Swiss National Day - August 1st since 1891 - several hundred celebrations take place on the day itself or the day before. Traditionally, the day is celebrated with fireworks, folk festivals, speeches by politicians, lantern parades and the lighting of bonfires.
It is a day of reflection on Switzerland's national identity and values. The day commemorates the Federal Charter of 1291, which is regarded as the founding document of the Swiss Confederation.
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