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GOOGLE DOODLES

Today’s Doodle celebrates Switzerland’s National Day, also known as Confederation Day, a time to honor this famously peaceful nation.

Switzerland National Day was first celebrated on this day in 1891, 600 years after the signing of one of Switzerland’s founding documents, the Bundesbrief (Federal Charter). Dated to the beginning of August in 1291, the charter forged an alliance between the cantons, or territories, of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden, forming the basis of the current Swiss Confederation. 

Depicted in the Doodle artwork is the Swiss flag, which features a white cross on a field of red and is one of only two national flags in the shape of a square. Elements of the flag’s current design date back to 1240, when the Schwyz canton raised a red flag with a small white cross in the corner. The modern Swiss flag was legally established in 1889 and today can be seen flying proudly from the cobblestone streets of Geneva to the idyllic shores of Lake Lucerne.

Happy National Day, Switzerland!