Switzerland has started the new year
Published: Monday, Jan 1st 2024, 03:40
Updated At: Monday, Jan 1st 2024, 03:40
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Switzerland kicked off the new year 2024 with the ringing of bells, sparkling wine and the odd firework here and there. In Zurich, thousands flocked to the lake shortly after midnight to enjoy a huge fireworks display.
Around 10,000 rockets lit up the lake basin for 15 minutes. They were fired from three boats on Lake Zurich. The "Silvesterzauber" association was expecting around 150,000 spectators in the run-up to the event. The Zurich city police promised information on any incidents and the number of visitors on Monday morning, as a spokesperson told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Monday night.
On New Year's Eve, the landmarks Fraumünster, Grossmünster, St. Peter's Church, Stadthaus, Stadthausquai 1 and the Opera House in Zurich's Old Town were illuminated with wishes from the public. Using a high-performance projection, artists projected "LiechtTräum" onto the facades of Zurich's landmarks.
Fireworks were also planned in Geneva and smaller towns such as Brunnen SZ, both Rheinfelden AG and D and Schwarzsee FR. There have been no fireworks in Bern since 2021. There, people flock to Münsterplatz at midnight to toast a Happy New Year in the open air. No official fireworks were planned in Basel either. In Lucerne, they are planned for New Year's Eve.
Sporty and noisy customs
There were also people who started the new year in a sporty way: for example, at the Zurich New Year's marathon, where the starting signal is given at 00:00 on January 1. On New Year's Eve, the New Year's Eve swim, which has been taking place in Lake Moos near Bern since 1999, started at 12.00 noon. Temperature: five to six degrees.
Also in the canton of Bern, the inhabitants of the small town of Laupen celebrated the custom of "Achetringele" in its current form for the hundredth time on New Year's Eve. With bells and jingles, juniper brooms, pig's bladders and scary masks, evil spirits are driven out and the new year is welcomed.
There are other New Year's Eve customs in Switzerland, such as the New Year's Eve threshing in Hallwil AG. There, around ten men position a long board next to a huge fire. According to an old custom, they thresh out the old year and bring in the new one.
©Keystone/SDA
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