UBC January 2025 - Christmas Eve at the Airport

Welcome to another episode of UBC January 2025. Today I'm gonna tell you about our Christmas Eve.

Last year we started what might become a new tradition: We went out for Christmas Eve dinner - at the airport! I thought this year they were doing a much better job. There were more Christmas trees!

In case you're wondering whether it's just me or the whole of Switzerland that's obsessed with Christmas trees, and whether it's even appropriate to “display” Christmas in public places that serve an international audience, like an airport: 

In Switzerland, most people celebrate Christmas as it is deeply rooted in our country's culture and tradition. According to statistics and surveys, around 80 - 90% of the Swiss population celebrate Christmas, regardless of whether they are religious or not, and depending on how “celebrating” is defined (religious festival, family dinner, presents, decorations, just a few days off work, etc.).

The remaining 10 - 20% may not celebrate Christmas because of other religions or because they have no connection to the holiday.

Christmas is perceived by many as a cultural festival (lights, presents, family) rather than a religious event. As a result, the religious aspect falls into the background and criticism is less frequent.. 

Also Switzerland has a more relaxed attitude than the USA when it comes to Christmas greetings. “Merry Christmas” is mostly received positively. If someone doesn't like it, this is usually expressed politely or with a neutral comment, without confrontation. 

“Happy Holidays” is sometimes chosen as a more inclusive alternative, but wishing someone a ‘Merry Christmas’ does not usually get any nasty looks. 

Back to our night out. 

Interestingly we ran into acquaintances at the restaurant. They usually fly abroad for the Holidays but couldn't do so this year, so they still wanted to enjoy a bit of these travel vibes.

After a delicious meal of course some family members wanted to have dessert at Starbucks. As a former partner (employee) it always pains me when we have a less than nice experience, and this one was downright bad. Since I want to tell you the entire story, I'll pack it into a separate post and publish it tomorrow. Bear with me. 

Since it wasn't neither raining nor snowing, we decided to actually go outside to one of our plane spotting locations. 

The colorful lights made it feel like at the runways it's Christmas all year long!

What made us pick the airport to spend Christmas Eve at?

I had always thought it would be interesting to be in a public place while others were sitting at home around the Christmas tree or a festive table. 

Eventually, I could even imagine volunteering at some place. When I spoke to my uncle about it, he smiled and said, “That's very noble of you, but be warned, it's usually not as romantic as we think. Many who have nowhere else to go aren't exactly appreciative of you taking the night off from your family to help them. They may be drunk, bitter or otherwise unhappy.”

What are your thoughts on this?