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Christmas lights in Zurich, 1958. (Jules Vogt/Photopress-Archiv)
Christmas tree in the control room of a nuclear power plant near Zurich, 1970. (Jules Vogt/ETH-Bibliothek)
A Christmas celebration at a petrol station near Be, 1952. (Keystone)
A family Christmas within the walls of one of Switzerland's most iconic buildings - the Munot tower. The Munot watchperson still lives in the flat on top of the tower with his family, performing the symbolic function of looking out for the ship traffic on the Rhine. 24. Dezember 1958 (Jules Vogt/Photopress-Archiv).
A military Christmas in the 10th batallion near Be, 1914. (Jules Decrauzat/Photopress-Archiv)
A forest Christmas near Baden in 1958.
Swissair flight attendant offering Christmas cookies to passengers on a festively decorated plane. Zürich, 1975. (ETH-Bibliothek)
Beese school children singing Christmas carols in support of a Red Cross children in need campaign. Be, 1948. (Keystone)
Christmas shopping in Zürich, 1977. (ETH-library)
Christmas in Basel by the Rhine port, 1960. (ETH-library)
Changing the Christmas light bulbs in Zürich, 1962. (ETH-library)
Members of the action committee "Christmas 1968" are raising awareness for world hunger in front of the Be Minster. Be, 1968. (Joel Widmer/Photopress-Archiv)
Young men celebrating Christmas in a youth correctional facility near Aarau in 1944. (Keystone)
Rural post office in the Beese Alps, 1951. (Margrit Bäumlin/Photopress Archiv)
Bahnhofstrasse Zürich, 1990. (ETH-Bibliothek)
Old photographs on the subject of Christmas in Switzerland
The Christmas we celebrate is in fact an eclectic mix of traditions and customs of Germanic and Christian origin which have evolved over many years. Many of them, like the Christmas tree, have only been around since the beginning of the 19th Century. (The tree is thought to have been introduced by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and proved so popular that the tradition spread around the world.)
Switzerland shares many of its Christmas traditions with its Central European neighbours. Church services, presents, baking cookies and decorating the tree all play a central part in the celebrations. On Christmas Eve, there is a festive family meal and many people visit a midnight church service, although the Christian origins of the festival are no longer important to every family.
In our series #swisshistorypics, we take a look back in time with pictures of Christmas celebration from the last 80 years.
Adapted from the German by Laura Németh, swissinfo.ch