Swiss Canton Awards 100 Bottles of Wine to 100-Year-Olds
Swiss State Awards 100 Bottles of Wine to 100-Year-Olds
© Unsplash
Swiss State Awards 100 Bottles of Wine to 100-Year-Olds
© Unsplash
Celebrating centenarians
It is common practice in Switzerland for people lucky enough to celebrate their 100th birthday to get a gift from their canton. But senior citizens in Fribourg seem to have the most cause for jubilation. Since 2000, the Swiss canton has been offering centenarians 100 bottles of wine on their big day. Municipal and cantonal representatives are already preparing for the birthday of Marie-Antoinette who is turning 100 on November 5, according to Le Matin Dimanche newspaper. But unlike many people her age she's not that keen on the wine.
Non-drinkers can choose between a charitable donation of 1,500 Swiss francs/$1,646 or a voucher to spend in a local retailer – but most senior citizens opt for the wine. “In 2020, we celebrated 27 centenarians. Five of them opted for the donation and two for the gift voucher,” state baliff Claude Freiburghaus said. Previously, the canton gave centenarians a choice of a free armchair or the wine, but the gift was abolished in 2015 due to lack of interest.
More generous cantons
In Switzerland, it is common practice to gift senior citizens wine when they reach 100. In Geneva, centenarians can choose between three bottles of wine or a bouquet. Vaud awards its locals twelve bottles of wine, a personalised gift worth 500 Swiss francs/$547 and sometimes flowers, according to Bloomberg. Centenarians in Neuchatel only receive a letter and flowers.
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