Traditional customs are alive and well all over Switzerland, with a lively variation not only from region to region, but even from village to village. Religious festivals, the farming year and the events of history - all are remembered in one way or another.

Jass This is the most popular of Swiss card games and it was apparently brought to Switzerland from the Netherlands by Swiss mercenaries.

Yodelling Yodelling is understood to mean a song without words, and with abrupt changes of register from the chest voice to falsetto, which also produce changes in the tone quality.

Schwingen (Alpine Wrestling) For this Swiss version of wrestling, competitors wear special shorts of coarse drill over their trousers with a slit at the back allowing the stipulated grip on the belt.

Hornussen (Baseball Swiss-style) This Swiss team game is played by 16 to 18 strikers and the same number of fielders.

Flag Tossing Flag tossing in Switzerland involves swinging a flag of a prescribed size and shape back and forth on a short staff and then throwing it into the air and catching it by the staff as it comes down.

Alphorn Competitions The alphorn, an instrument more than three metres/ten feet long made of a fir tree with a naturally curved root, has hardly changed over the centuries.

Stone-throwing Competition A large, funnel-shaped meadow at the foot of the Jungfrau near Interlaken gave its name to the Alpine herdsman, Swiss Alpine wrestling and traditional costume festival first held in the meadow in 1805.

National Costumes Near the end of the 18th century a new interest in the Alps and the pastoral lifestyles and cultures of the people living on them led to the development of tourism in Switzerland.