Christmas is a quiet time of year in Switzerland, where I currently live. Yes, people shop more than usual for Christmas gifts, but most shops close by 6 p.m. every night other than Sundays when they are closed for the whole day. That means we have quiet nights which are also dark.

Switzerland is in the middle of Western Europe, with a latitude (= distance from the equator) of 45 degrees. This is the same distance north of the equator (= the middle line across the Earth from which north and south have the same distance) as Mongolia. So the Swiss live farther north than Hokkaido, Japan. 

In winter our days are short, especially around Christmas. The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, is the week of Christmas. With the shops being closed and the long, dark night still ahead, many of us decorate for Christmas with lights. The typical Swiss approach is to use white or cream colored lights, not flashing or colorful lights like those you would see in the USA, where I come from. 

The cities also decorate with subtle (= understated or delicate) lights. The photo for this article shows my hometown's romantic Christmas lighting. They use lights to reflect images on the historic city buildings.

I have Christmas lights on a pine tree on my balcony, too.

And we decorate our warm and cozy apartment with oranges which we have stuck pieces of clove in. The patterns we make are up to us. Here's my goddaughter (= a child you have a close relationship to, but are not necessarily family) with some we made a few years ago. We put those nice smelling oranges on small decorative plates on the table.

At Christmas events we also decorate the table, like this one below. Colors like red or green will typically be used, as will the Swiss Christmas 'Wichtl' which is a character in the woods which should bring good luck.

I highly recommend a trip to Western Europe during the holidays. It's very romantic, beautiful and somewhat sophisticated, too.

If you are interested in such topics, book a holiday lesson with me today!