August 1 is Swiss National Day. The first celebration was in 1891, commemorating the 600th anniversary of the Swiss Confederation. In early August 1291, the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden signed the Federal Charter of 1291. The day did not officially become a national holiday until 1994, after a vote on 26 September 1993.
The day is celebrated with fireworks, bonfires, and parades. At the Rhine Falls near Schaffhausen, there is a "Fire on the Rocks" fireworks display (which takes place the night before, July 31). The falls are illuminated during the display. A festival is held on the Rhine (also on July 31) at Basel. It includes fireworks, taverns and stalls, and musical performances. The celebration at Rütli includes a reading of the Rütlischwur, the oath of alliance which was taken at Rütli. In Zürich, a procession and festival are held.
Celebrations are also held outside Switzerland, in locations including New York City, Washington, D.C., Whittier, California, and Sutton, Quebec, Canada (in the town of Sutton and at the Mont SUTTON ski resort).
My 3rd-great-grandfather Davidson Binkley is believed to be a descendant of Peter Binkley (also Binggeli and Binckele), who was born in Guggisberg, Canton Bern, Switzerland on 2 March 1704 and came to Pennsylvania in 1736.
Rhine Falls fireworks. Photo by SISHION (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.
Bonfire, Reinach. Photo by Roland Zumbühl (Picswiss), Arlesheim (Commons: Picswiss project) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.
References
Celebrating Swiss National Day, 1 August
Swiss National Day
Swiss National Day, August 1st
About the SND NYC
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