Santa in the sun – how the Swiss Abroad celebrate the holidays
More and more Swiss nationals living abroad are posting their pictures on Instagram with #WeAreSwissAbroad, making Switzerland visible to the world – including during the holiday season.
About 18 months ago we created the Instagram account to provide a platform for the Swiss Abroad. Since then we have posted a selection of photos almost daily. Thanks to these snaps, we have already portrayed many interesting Swiss people who have emigrated from Switzerland. For example, Raphael Knopf, who exchanged Fribourg for the wilds of New Zealand’s North Island, or Manuel Schuster from Thun, who now lives in the Philippines.
To save you the trouble of searching for advent pictures on #WeAreSwissAbroad, we have selected the most best and funniest examples.
1. Poetically captured Christmas illumination in Colmar, France
2. Picture gallery of a Santa Claus and Schmutzli visit at the Swiss Club Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
3. Futuristic Christmas lighting in Sydney, Australia
4. Because this picture s so beautiful, we made an exception to the rule: Karina Fenner took this shot during her visit to Switzerland
5. When the Christmas tree bauble becomes a lens
6. Well-groomed and very incognito: Santa Claus and Schmutzli in El Salvador
7. Barbara Elliker makes Christmas cookies in Buenos Aires, Argentina
8. Admittedly snapped at the end of November, but nevertheless this fits into the pre-Christmas series: lanterns in Hoi An, Vietnam
9. Another entry from the Swiss Club Victoria, Melbourne, Australia: children make “Grittibänze” breads
10. The Swiss Club Toronto in Canada have also made “Grittibänze”
11. And the Swiss Embassy in Iran reminded us in this Instagram post that “Grittibänz” can also be called “Grättimaa” (men)
12. And this is what the Advent wreath looks like at the entrance to the Swiss Embassy in Iran
13. At the Auckland Swiss Club in New Zealand, Santa Claus was even flown in by helicopter
14. Not really adventurous, but still spectacular: Erhan ventured to the edge of the Victoria Falls in Zambia this December
15. In Aseda, Sweden, it is of course much easier to get into a pre-Christmas mood
16. What lovely Christmas lights on a church in the old town of Veracruz, Mexico
17. Karin has home baked “Läckerli” cookies in Miami, US
18. And finally, another picture of the Swiss Club Toronto: This time from a Christmas market in the Canadian city
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Dear Swiss living abroad…
Translated from German by Matthew Allen
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