Another anecdotal piece of evidence is the many signs stuck to houses, apartment balconies, and barns announcing new babies. And when I say many, I mean 10+ on some apartment buildings!
The signs usually have the child's name and birth date displayed for the world to see. Some are animals, like the one above.
Some are Disney characters:
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| Pooh announcing the arrival of a lot of poo? |
Some are cute kid characters:
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| View zoomed in... |
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| ...and on the building. |
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| Instead of holding steins of beer, the little guy is holding bottles. |
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| Real sign on the side of a restaurant. |
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| Actual brewery in adjacent city of Baar. |
From an American parent point of view, I see some safety issues with announcing where you live and the name and age of your child, but things are different in Switzerland. For all their rules and harsh punishments (real and rumored), it feels pretty safe here.
And for those of you who have not heard the song, Sign of the Times by Harry Styles, here it is for your listening pleasure. The world he depicts in his song is nothing like Switzerland, but it is still one of my favorites.
Not that any of my poetry can compete with the likes of Mr. Styles, but here is a tiny poem about the 'sign of the times' happening in Switzerland:
signs seen
both far and near
animals, Disney,
and of course, beer
names displayed
for the world to see
announcing the arrival
of a new baby
©2018, Bridget Magee. All Rights Reserved.
So interesting, Bridget! I agree that that particular cultural practice would never be a good thing in the US, but it is rather charming. Like you, I loved the take off of the beer sign. I also enjoyed watching Harry Styles take off (quite literally!). As usual, you were able to sum it all up in a perfect little poetry package. Good enough for any stork to pick up and deliver. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Michelle! So many interesting things to see and wonder about here in Switzerland. And of course, you can never have too much of Harry Styles' Sign of the Times...he literally walks on water! ;)
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