Stories of holidays past, and 2017 in review

Here is a selection of stories to look ahead to on swissinfo.ch in the week of December 25, 2017.

This content was published on December 24, 2017 - 12:00

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A woman douses a burning Christmas tree — Keystone

Monday

As Christians celebrate yuletide, we dig up stories of holidays past from our archives and uncover traditions like the risky but enduring ritual of lighting real candles on the Christmas tree.

Tuesday

Take a look back at 2017 through the lens of some memorable statistics as reported by swissinfo.ch. Can you remember how many bottles of wine each Swiss drank in 2017? Hint: not as many as the year before.

Thursday

In an interview with swissinfo.ch, Swiss comedian Mike Müller explains his fascination with town hall meetings, a form of direct democracy still prevalent in many smaller communities and the subject of his latest stage act.

The cost of pharmaceuticals in the US and Switzerland is among the highest in the world. Is anything being done about it? Find out in the latest of our ongoing series on health care in the two countries.

child gymnasts — Keystone/Ti-Press/Gabriele Putzu

Sunday

As 2018 approaches, take a pictorial look back at the past 12 months with the best images of 2017 as chosen by our picture editors.

What you may have missed last week:

If parliament refuses to act, it’s the people’s turn

This content was published on Dec 20, 2017 The Swiss parliament recently rejected a motion to ban imports of products involving cruelty to animals, but now the people could have their say.

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