AUGUST 1: SWISS NATIONAL DAY

August 1, 1291 is celebrated throughout Switzerland as the country's birthdate. On that date, representatives from the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden met in Rutli Meadow in the canton of Schwyz to pledge the Oath of Confederation (or the Oath of Rutli Meadow, depicted below), long believed to be the country's founding document.

The Museum of the Swiss Charters in Schwyz houses many documents that tell the story of the Old Swiss Confederacy: the politics of alliance between the “confederates”, their many conflicts and compromises, life in the Middle Ages, and of course the famous military battles. History and myth are presented as two sides of the same coin, illuminating the Swiss spirit and the country's role in the family of nations.

Although the old confederacy was replaced with the modern Federal State in 1848, the Swiss continue to honor their legacy as one of Earth's earliest republics. Wikipedia traces their long, complex history.

Aug. 1 fireworks over the village. We watch the display from the hotel terrace -- oohing and aahing with the other guests. (Notice the outline of the night-time Matterhorn at left). Then we return to our own balcony, where we are bombarded by competing rockets launched from each sector of town,  far into the night.

Traditional August 1 rituals in each village include display of national and cantonal flags (below; Zermatt is in the canton of Valais/Wallis) with ancient dress, musical performances, and sharing of the wonderful Swiss "essen und trinken." Celebrations include joyous ringing of village church bells, followed by fireworks displays (weather permitting), which boom and echo down the canyons here in Zermatt.

I'm updating this page in 2019, and it's worth saying a few words about the Swiss government, since we in the States have had such a painful civics lesson in the past few years.

The Swiss Federal Council is the seven-member executive council that serves as the collective head of state and of government of Switzerland. While the entire council is responsible for leading the federal administration of Switzerland, each councillor heads one of the seven federal executive departments. The position of President of the Swiss Confederation rotates among the seven councillors on a yearly basis, with one year's Vice President of the Federal Council becoming the next year's Confederation President.

While the Swiss drew heavily on the United States Constitution for the organization of the federal state as a whole, they opted for the collegial rather than the presidential system for the executive branch of government. This accommodated the long tradition of the rule of collective bodies in Switzerland. Under the Ancien Régime, the cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy had been governed by councils of pre-eminent citizens since time immemorial.

I love this. According to the Swiss order of precedence, the President of the Confederation is "merely" the highest-ranking Swiss official. He/She presides over Council meetings and carries out certain representative functions that, in other countries, are the business of a head of state. In urgent situations where a Council decision cannot be made in time, s/he is empowered to act on behalf of the whole Council. Apart from that, though, s/he is a primus inter pares, having no power above and beyond the other six Councillors.

The collegial system of government has found widespread adoption in modern democracies in the form of cabinet government with collective responsibility. So much for strongman (or heaven forbid,woman) autocrats!  The U.S.could do well to take a cue back from the Swiss.