Aare lights
The Aare Lights was a Bern festival that took place from 1996 to 2005 (the date August 1st, i.e. the Swiss national holiday, had become the norm ).
Following the example of Indian and East Asian light and water festivals, light boats were placed in the Aare later in the evening in the Matte district, moving in a chain of lights down the river . The simple cups (boats) made of corn starch and fitted with candles could be bought by the visitors and given a secret, personal message. The event was organized by the Swissaid charity and the proceeds went to aid projects all over the world.
The highlight of the Aare lighting was in 1998, when the event was held not only in Bern, but in a total of 20 cities: and not only in many Aare cities in the cantons of Bern, Solothurn and Aargau, but also on the Saane (in Freiburg) as well as in the Brienzer (in Brienz) and Lake Zurich (on the Au peninsula near Wädenswil), as Saane, Lake Brienz and Lake Zurich lights.
After the event in 2005, Swissaid surprisingly canceled this cultural event. The event has since been continued in a modified form by Procap , the largest Swiss self-help organization for people with disabilities. The sea of lights has been illuminating Bern's Waisenhausplatz every August 1st since 2006 and Bundesplatz since 2010. The proceeds from the sale of lights will benefit the Procap meeting points for disabled people in the canton of Bern.
Individual evidence
- ^ Sea of lights on the Bundesplatz . procap.ch. Retrieved October 14, 2011.