Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
8% of the population.
Demographics in Switzerland
The country's population in 2009 reached 7,604,467. The age structure is the following: 0 -- 14 years: 15.6%, 15 -- 64 years: 68.1%, 65 years and over: 16.3%. The median age is estimated at 41 years. The population growth rate in 2009 reached 0.276% (CIA, 2009).
Ethnic groups in Switzerland are represented by German 65%, French 18%, Italian 10%, Romansch 1%, other 6%.
The national and official languages in Switzerland are: German 63.7%, French 20.4%, Italian 6.5%, and Romansch 0.5%. Other languages include Serbo-Croatian 1.5%, Albanian 1.3%, Portuguese 1.2%, Spanish 1.2%, English 1%, and other 2.8%.
Holiday Celebration in Switzerland
The most important holiday in Switzerland is Christmas, which is celebrated in a similar way compared to the U.S. And other European countries. For example, the Christmas tree is decorated on Christmas Eve in general, presents are exchanged among family, friends, and colleagues.
Santa Claus is also present in the Swiss Christmas celebration (California Mall, 2009). However, the Swiss seem to follow more and more the American celebration style, by decorating outdoors and indoors locations all through December.
Another popular holiday celebration is obviously New Year's Eve. The moment is celebrated by most people in the same style as it is celebrated in other corners of the world.
Other holidays include Berchtold's Day, Easter, Labor Day, National Holiday on August 1st, and others (About, 2006).
There is a series of other local holiday celebrations that vary from one canton to another, in accordance with the characteristics of each region, the religion practiced in each canton, and other specific traits.
Fashion in Switzerland
Much like the country's gastronomy and arts, Switzerland's fashion is also quite diversified amongst its cantons. The German, French, and Italian regimes have influenced the respective regions' dressing style in different manners.
The German dressing style is a stricter one, very simple, very pragmatic, oriented more on the comfort and functionality of clothes, rather than on esthetics.
The French and the Italian dressing styles are quite the opposite, focusing on the esthetics of the...
They pay a lot of interest towards accessories, and clothes are sometimes very charged with certain embellishments.
Tradition and Customs in Switzerland
The country's continuous modernization process has replaced many traditions and customs with new habits. Customs in Switzerland are also diversified, varying from one region to another (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2009).
But one of the common traditions is represented by the country's orientation towards ecology, recycling waste material, and the preservation of nature.
Conclusions
The practical application of sociology as a science is represented by the study of human societies. This paper focuses on presenting an overview of the Swiss society, by providing information on the aspects that compose the life of the Swiss nation.
The paper analyzes important aspects addressed by sociology, like culture, economy, history, traditions, religion, demographics, and others. For example, the section referring to economy is important from sociology's point-of-view because of the fact that it allows to observe the economic context of the country and how this affects its citizens, the standards of living, and the country's possibilities.
The paper also provides an image of the Swiss citizens' lifestyle, their way of thinking and acting both on individual level and as a society.
Reference list:
1. Richards, C. (2005). Living in Switzerland. Transitions Abroad. Retrieved December 11, 2009 from http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0507/living_in_switzerland.shtml.
2. Switzerland (2009). Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. Retrieved December 11, 2009 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sz.html.
3. Holiday Traditions in Switzerland (2009). California Mall. Retrieved December 11, 2009 from http://www.californiamall.com/holidaytraditions/traditions-Switzerland.htm.
4. Holidays in Switzerland (2006). About.ch. Retrieved December 11, 2009 from http://www.about.ch/various/holidays.html.
5. Switzerland (2009). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved December 11, 2009 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/577225/Switzerland/256961/Daily-life-and-social-customs.
Reference list:
1. Richards, C. (2005). Living in Switzerland. Transitions Abroad. Retrieved December 11, 2009 from http://www.transitionsabroad.com/publications/magazine/0507/living_in_switzerland.shtml.
2. Switzerland (2009). Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. Retrieved December 11, 2009 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sz.html.
3. Holiday Traditions in Switzerland (2009). California Mall. Retrieved December 11, 2009 from http://www.californiamall.com/holidaytraditions/traditions-Switzerland.htm.
4. Holidays in Switzerland (2006). About.ch. Retrieved December 11, 2009 from http://www.about.ch/various/holidays.html.
5. Switzerland (2009). Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved December 11, 2009 from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/577225/Switzerland/256961/Daily-life-and-social-customs.
Dutch Culture Introduction to Cultural Differences It is obvious that differences in cultures are very important, though these differences are difficult to handle. The failure to understand and appreciate that differences in cultures bring variety to lifestyles leads to embarrassment, uneasy relationships, and failed businesses. Culture permeates both life and death. Take, for instance, the high rate of plane crashes in Korea from the year 1970 to 2000. The discovery made from
Leadership Skills Impact International Education CHALLENGES OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION Practical Circumstances of International schools THE IMPORTANCE OF LEADERSHIP IN EDUCATION What is Effective Leadership for Today's Schools? Challenges of Intercultural Communication Challenges of Differing Cultural Values Importance of the Team Leadership Style LEADERSHIP THEORIES Current Leadership Research Transformational Leadership Skills-Authority Contingency Theories APPLYING LEADERSHIP IN AN INTERNATIONAL SETTING Wagner's "Buy-in" vs. Ownership Understanding the Urgent Need for Change Research confirms what teachers, students, parents and superintendents have long known: the individual school is the key unit
Many young people voted for Reagan as he represented rebellion against the authority figures in society but was a rebellion characterized by valiance and effectuated through skillful communication. The approval rating of Reagan was approximately 42% when 1982 began but dropped to the record low 35% later that same year. The U.S. entered a recession. If one is to set their focus upon obtaining a chance at being the
" As will be shown below, the bottled water market is increasingly competitive and consumers have a dazzling array of choices available to them. It is clear that Voss has taken this into account when developing its sophisticated packaging, some samples of which are shown in Figure ____ below. Figure ____. Representative Sampling of Voss Packaging Techniques. Source: noisedfisk.com/illustrations/vosswater.jpg, www.uncrate.com/men/images/voss-water.jpg, http://www.urbanfare.com/featuredfare/images/weeklyad/voss_water.jpg In fact, one new admirer of the Voss brand unashamedly proclaimed that even
1948?" It will inform the reader of important events that occurred in the world in 1948. For America and the world, 1948 was a year in transition. World War II had ended, but there was still war in the world. America was entering into an era of prosperity, and families were engaging in the "baby boom." 1948 was a banner year for many improvements and innovations that would prove
Pattern of Development: COMPARE AND CONTRAST Sick Society Is it even a mystery how we have become the fattest country in the world (Sturm 2007)? Why do we have such poor choices for food? Enter Derrick. Derrick is a 15-year-old male from Jackson, Mississippi who has been clinically diagnosed as being "Class II Obese" or "Morbidly Obese" with a BMI of 37. His poor food choices at any given time during the