The 1er Aout is all about the bonfires, soup, and barbecued sausages in local towns and villages.

Don't forget to gear up on some Swiss flags, candles, "lampions", and decorations to get into the spirit.

The evening starts around 18h or 19h with a parade of children and their lampions (paper lantern on a stick with a real candle or electric light bulb).

Most will have some sort of official ceremony with speeches, bell ringing, and band music. It is followed by a soup (in a take-home bowl with date on it hand crafted for your village for the 1er aout!) and other festival foods.

The bonfire is the favorite thing, as each one is traditionally lit in sequence with the next village so that if you were looking from above (Jura or Salève) you will be able to see them but this is not always the case. Some examples of bonfires:

21h30 Geneva's Parc de la Grange

22h Carouge

22h15 Lausanne-Ouchy

22h30 Gland

Some of the bonfires are immediately followed by a dance or a firework display.