In Switzerland, there are 26 cantons. Each canton (section) of the country has its own constitution, laws, customs and traditions. Switzerland is a country that was created by people from many European countries, so it has four official languages--French, German, Italian, and Romansh--and is influenced by many other cultures. Despite the differences between the cantons, the people in these regions share similar traditions from music to dancing to food.
Two traditions that I learned about early in my time in Switzerland were folk dancing and raclette dinners! I learned that raclette is a traditional Swiss dish of melted cheese. It comes as a huge wheel of semi-hard cheese that is slowly heated, and then scraped off and seasoned with salt, pepper, and other spices. It is typically eaten with potatoes, and pickled onions and served with a hot drink or wine. It was really delicious! A fun fact about raclette is that instead of buying regular cheese-burgers in Switzerland, you can get hamburgers covered in raclette! I recommended you try one if you make your way to Switzerland.
Music and dancing are also both huge parts of Swiss culture and can be experienced on street corners, in bars and restaurants and during national and regional celebrations.
