November 1 is the day of commemoration of all saints, martyrs and the dead. Especially the Catholic cantons of central Switzerland benefited from this. All Saints’ Day is also on St. Gallen and Valais is a public holiday – people can enjoy the long weekend there.
There are 2294 municipalities in Switzerland. Of these, 922 employees take a vacation on 1 November. That’s a 40 percent share. Large cantons such as Zurich, Bern and Basel may look enviously at the holiday arrangements of others and ask themselves: Why not us?
Why is All Saints’ Day not a national holiday in Switzerland?
The only nationally regulated public holiday is August 1. Otherwise, the cantons themselves are responsible for determining public holidays. On All Saints’ Day, denominational boundaries apply in most cases. For example, outside Basel-Stadt: here Catholics do not do it on Fridays in favor of carnival.
In these cantons there is a discount on 1st November
The festival was established to celebrate each saint on a special day. On November 1, these Swiss cantons can commemorate all the saints and the deceased: Aargau, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Freiburg, Glarus, Jura, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, St. Gallen, Solothurn, Schwyz, Ticino, Uri, Valais and Zug.
Bridge days in Switzerland
Unfortunately, the holidays in 2022 are sometimes quite unfavorable and will be swallowed up by jobless weekends. Entering the bridge days is even more valuable.