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From Here To There: Memoirs Of A Swiss Childhood, Ellen Carney

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Flags are the hallmark of August ist, a day steeped in tradition and legend. Flags are flown all year round, but they serve mainly decorative purposes on mountain tops, steam boats and on occasion, a church tower. The bright red square with the white cross livens up the green (or white) countryside, gray city streets and certainly looks photogenic against the blue sky of calendar pages. Swiss love their flag but don't pledge allegiance to it, not even on this day when it assumes a patriotic dimension and is flown everywhere, from ordinary buildings, across narrow streets in the old …