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Switzerland lies at the crossroads of several major European cultures. Three of the continent's major languages, German, French and Italian, are national languages of Switzerland, along with Romansh, spoken by a small minority. Therefore, Swiss culture is characterised by diversity, which is reflected in a wide range of traditional customs. The 26 cantons also account for the large cultural diversity.〔(Swiss culture ) swissworld.org. Retrieved on 2009-12-01〕 Notwithstanding the regional disparities, the Alps have played an essential role in shaping the history and culture of Switzerland.〔(Mountains and hedgehogs ) swissworld.org. Retrieved on 2009-12-01〕〔(In Search of Natural Identity: Alpine Landscape and the Reconstruction of the Swiss Nation ), Oliver Zimmer, London School of Economics and Political Science〕 The region of the Gotthard Pass became the nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the early 14th century. Nowadays, all mountain areas of Switzerland have a strong skiing and mountaineering culture and are associated with folk arts such as alphorn and yodeling. Other Swiss cultural icons include Swiss chocolate, Swiss cheese, Watches, Cowbell and the Swiss Army knife. ==Folk arts== Folk art is kept alive in organizations all over the country. In Switzerland, it is mostly expressed in music, dance, poetry, wood carving and embroidery. There are also many regional and local rites demarcating times of the year. Yodeling, despite being stereotypical for Switzerland, is not widespread and is limited to only some mountain areas. The same is true for the accordion, which is sometimes called by the name ''Schwiizerörgeli'', implying that it was a Swiss musical instrument, rather than the German ''Handorgel''. The alphorn, or the alpenhorn, is a trumpet-like musical instrument made of wood. The use of the alphorn is seen mainly in mountainous regions, can be very popular in some areas, and like yodeling or the accordion, it has become an emblem of traditional Swiss music. The melodies of folk music vary between regions. Generally those in pastoral areas are floating and wide-ranging. In the inner and southern Alps, however, the melodies are more songlike, and of more limited range. Common and popular themes are about love and the homeland, but patriotic and pastoral themes, as well as hunting themes, are also commonplace. The Alpine folk culture is characterized by very expressive dances. Small musical ensembles can be found in the more mountainous areas, particularly in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. The most common form of woodcarving is chip carving. Such carving is normally for the decoration of everyday objects, such as milk stools, neckbands for bells, wooden spoons, or walking sticks. Figure carving is also common, particularly of Nativity figures. In some areas, the façades of houses are richly decorated using woodcarving. This is widespread in the Bernese Oberland region where Protestant Christianity predominates. In Roman Catholic regions, this is far less common. Embroidery is common on traditional clothing, particularly women's clothing. Embroidery is often limited to prominent points, such as cuffs, hats and scarves. Embroidery is also used for the decoration of fabric. In the past, embroidery was a home industry in the northeast and the east of Switzerland. Nowadays, embroidery is confined to tourism, as traditional clothes are no longer in use. On certain autumn nights, children's processions with lanterns are common in Alemannic Switzerland. Lanterns (called ' "turnip light") are hand-carved from root vegetables, generally turnips, by removing the interior and putting a candle inside. The ''Rääbeliechtli'' is carved with designs such as the traditional sun, moon and stars. The lantern is then suspended by three chains. The children walk through the streets of their town with the lanterns and sing traditional songs. The custom originates with thanksgiving traditions at the end of harvest in November. This tradition is very similar to the tradition of carving turnip lanterns for halloween in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man (where they call halloween Hop-tu-Naa, and have traditional songs), and parts of England and Wales. There the celebration is on the 31st October to celebrate the eve of the Celtic New Year. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Culture of Switzerland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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