St Nicholas attracts over 30,000 people in Fribourg

St Nicholas attracts over 30,000 people in Freiburg Keystone-SDA

More than 30,000 people celebrated St Nicholas and his entourage in the Swiss city of Fribourg on Saturday. In his address, the city saint delivered his message of peace and criticised the cantonal austerity measures.

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As usual, St Nicholas humorously summarised current events, talking about health insurance premiums and the 100th birthday of the artist Jean Tinguely. He also touched on world peace: “Even Switzerland, which is so proud of its neutrality, has not always found the right words to promote peace,” he said.

In his speech, the city saint also addressed the canton’s so-called Programme for the Restructuring of Public Finances (PFAS): “Cuts are being made here, cuts are being made there, savings are being made everywhere,” he said. “It would be time to give the decision-makers a dictionary with the page ‘solidarity’ in it!”

Beforehand, St Nicholas and his entourage set off on the traditional procession through the city centre to the cathedral, where he gave a half-hour speech. The event was broadcast on a large screen on the town hall square. On Sunday, the family day will extend the festival.

Adapted from German by AI/ts

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