Ascension Day Holiday in Switzerland

About Ascension day: The Ascension day Holiday in Switzerland is celebrated on the 40th day of Easter and it is on the 39 days of Easter Sunday. The day signifies the Jesus Christ ascension into the heaven as per the Christmas belief. The ascension day is one of the public holiday and it is a day off for the general population along with schools and also most of the businesses are closed as the 40th day of Easter falls on this day. The resurrection day is also known as The Feast of the Ascension, the Holy Thursday or the Ascension Thursday. The Biblical account of the Ascension is found to be Matthews 28:16:20, Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11.

How Celebrate Ascension day:The forty day period which is in between the Jesus ascending to heaven and then believing in the words of what Jesus preached along with intermingling with apostles and also his disciples increasing his followers base is celebrated as the Ascension Day Holiday in Switzerland. The tradition is celebrated primarily by Anglican Christians and Catholics and all according to the Western Christianity methods which says calculation of the dates of Easter along with the earliest possible dates for the Ascension day is April 30, which is the latest possible date which is June 3. The Ascension day is also the celebration which includes the following and the Easter (Paschal) candle is put out along with the processions with the torches, banners and fruits, vegetables also gets blessed by the church.

The ten days after ascension is Pentecost ( Whitsuntide) which also commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples and the Pentecost ends the cycle of the Easter and the related events in the Christian calendar. The Ascension Day Holiday in Switzerland is celebrated in all the 26 Cantons and the old English tradition is that the weather is very sunny on Ascension day and it is a warm summer but if it rains it gives a poor harvest and also the livestock suffers from disease. The other countries also have the tradition of a different kind where the Germany celebrates father's day (Vatertag) on the same date and the tradition dates back to eighteenth century when the prizes were awarded to father's after Ascension day parades in rural areas.

The Church services which is held on the Ascension day and often involve the putting out of the Easter Candle and the torch lit processions with flying banners and the "church-blessed produce" are used by the public. The Auffahrt procession in Beromunster which is a major attraction on the Ascension Day Holiday in Switzerland and the tradition which dates from at-least 1509, while it has become the large the horse-focused celebration day in 1780. The tradition is also about 150 riders in traditional costumes with mount horses and riding around before the spectators. The foot-parade with flags, music and singing along with traditional costumes which passes through beautiful countryside and further the religious pilgrims join the procession by more than a thousands number with large crowds watching the progress and the various programs continues making the festivity carry till the four-day weekend.

 

2019 Festival Date: Thursday, 30 May

2020 Festival Date: Thursday, 21 May

2021 Festival Date: Thursday, 13 May

2022 Festival Date: Thursday, 26 May

2023 Festival Date: Thursday, 18 May

2024 Festival Date: Thursday, 9 May

2025 Festival Date: Thursday, 29 May

Type : Cultural

Frequency: Annual