ConvivaPlus.ch
🏮 Family

Swiss turnip lantern parades 2026: 17 verified dates — and the first one burns in October

Every municipality, every neighbourhood and parents' association publishes its parade on its own page. Nowhere do they appear together. We have gathered them: 17 confirmed dates in 16 municipalities across 6 cantons — each one read at the organiser's own page, none carried over from last year.

Key takeaway
The documented Räbeliechtli parades of 2026 take place between Friday, 30 October 2026 and Saturday, 14 November 2026. The busiest weekend is 6 and 7 November. The world's largest parade — the Räbechilbi in Richterswil — is on Saturday, 14 November 2026, starting at 6 p.m.
The ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli calendar
·Every date checked individually at the source
WhatsApp
Swiss turnip lantern parades 2026: 17 verified dates — and the first one burns in October
17
verified dates
each checked at the source
6
cantons
in 16 municipalities
30. October
first parade
Wallisellen — still in October
47%
most often Friday
Saturday is not the default

When is the turnip lantern parade in 2026?

The confirmed parades of 2026 run from Friday, 30 October 2026 to Saturday, 14 November 2026. There is no nationwide date — every municipality sets its own evening.

No canton and no umbrella body sets the Räbeliechtli evening. So the question «when is Räbeliechtli?» has no single right answer, but as many as there are associations. A neighbourhood association, a parents' association, a playgroup, a local tourism society — each decides for its own village, its own district. These groups run the evening on a voluntary basis — to thank them afterwards, we keep over 120 ready-made thank-you texts. Type it into a search engine and you get a single association's page, never the overview. More than two weeks separate the earliest from the latest documented date this season — from Friday, 30 October 2026 to Saturday, 14 November 2026. Rely on «sometime in early November» and you will miss the evening in your own municipality.

The assumption that costs families the evening

Almost everyone counts on Saturday. Wrong: in the ConvivaPlus analysis only 47 per cent of the confirmed dates fall on a Friday — and that is the most common weekday of all. The rest spread across Thursday, Saturday and even Sunday. And the very first parade of the season — Wallisellen — does not fall in November at all, but still in October. There is no «Räbeliechtli Saturday». There is only the evening your association has chosen.

By weekday: 17 one-day events
Monday0
Tuesday0
Wednesday0
Thursday2
Friday8
Saturday6
Sunday1

The ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli calendar

Every recorded event in one list — filterable by canton, weekday and how firmly the date is documented.

Precisely what a search engine cannot deliver in its results: not one municipality, but all of them side by side — with start time, assembly point, food on offer and a link to the page where we read the date.

Dates
22 of 22 events
verified · ConvivaPlus

The places in detail

For 22 places we keep a page of their own: with the full period, the gaps in the calendar and exactly what the organiser has published — and what is still open.

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of Zurich

All of the canton of Zurich→
Horgennot published yetOpen page Illnau-Effretikon · IllnauThu 5 NovOpen page RichterswilSat 14 NovOpen page WallisellenFri 30 OctOpen page Winterthur · IbergFri 6 NovOpen page Zurich · AffolternSat 7 NovOpen page Zurich · AlbisriedenSat 7 NovOpen page Zurich · FriesenbergSat 7 NovOpen page Zurich · HönggSat 7 NovOpen page Zurich · OberstrassFri 6 NovOpen page Zurich · OerlikonFri 6 NovOpen page Zurich · Wollishofennot published yetOpen page

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of Bern

All of the canton of Bern→
BiglenSun 1 NovOpen page JegenstorfFri 13 NovOpen page MeinisbergFri 6 NovOpen page Wiedlisbachnot published yetOpen page

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of Aargau

All of the canton of Aargau→
BadenThu 5 NovOpen page KüttigenFri 6 NovOpen page WettingenSat 7 NovOpen page

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of Schaffhausen

Stein am Rheinnot published yetOpen page

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of St. Gallen

Flawilnot published yetOpen page

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of Thurgau

Sirnach · BusswilFri 13 NovOpen page
📊
Quick poll

When is your Räbeliechtli parade?

One click – anonymous, no sign-up required.

For the family calendar
Swiss Christmas Markets 2026 →
50+ outings under 20 francs →
Spring outings in Switzerland →

Where the turnips burn across the country

We currently cover 6 cantons. Räbeliechtli is a German-speaking Swiss custom — it does not exist in French-speaking Switzerland or Ticino.

The map shows how many documented events we hold per canton. Which means it also shows something else: where our data is still thin. A pale canton does not mean nobody walks with turnips there — it means nobody there has yet published a date we could verify.

Where the turnips burn across the country

…
112

Source: ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli Calendar 2026

CantonEventsdate setFirst date
ZurichZH1210Fri 30 Oct
BernBE43Sun 1 Nov
AargauAG33Thu 5 Nov
SchaffhausenSH10–
St. GallenSG10–
ThurgauTG11Fri 13 Nov

What parents need to know beforehand

The date is only half the planning. The three most common mishaps: no turnip, the wrong starting point in a star march, and assuming a parade is automatically cancelled in the rain.

  1. 1
    You cannot get a turnip on the night itselfTurnip sales and carving happen days in advance — in Illnau already on 31 October, in Iberg the Wednesday before, at Friesenberg turnips and food vouchers are handed out the evening before. In Baden carving takes place in the afternoon, but only with registration. Think of it on the night and you walk without a light.
  2. 2
    In a star march the address matters more than the timeSeveral of the largest parades do not start in one place: Höngg has five assembly points, Friesenberg four, Affoltern three, Oerlikon and Illnau two each. Standing at the wrong one means chasing your own procession — the groups set off at different times, sometimes ten minutes apart.
  3. 3
    The bad-weather rule is not the same everywhereHöngg and Friesenberg set off in any weather, explicitly. Biglen, by contrast, cancels in bad weather and publishes the decision about two days beforehand on the association's site. There is no shared rule — your own association's rule is the one that counts.
  4. 4
    The start falls between 17:30 and 19:00This is the real planning constraint: for many families the evening begins in the middle of dinner. The earliest recorded parades set off at 17:30, the latest only at 19:00 in Zürich-Oberstrass — where it is already fully dark at the off. With small children, choose the early parade over the big one.
  5. 5
    Take public transport to the big paradesAt the Räbechilbi in Richterswil there is simply no parking; the route runs right beside the station, reachable on the S2 or S8. The commemorative badge and plaque there are cash only.
  6. 6
    No open flames where they are bannedFriesenberg explicitly bans torches, Baden recommends an LED tea light. In a parade of hollowed-out turnips inside a crowd, that is not a formality.

Why turnips at all?

In the Middle Ages the turnip was a staple food — what the potato is today. The parade originally celebrated the end of the last harvest before winter.

You find this explanation on the organisers' own pages — from the Illnau parents' association to the Baden family centre: lanterns were carved from the last harvest and carried through the village by children. In Flawil the custom even has its own name and its own legend: the Lägelisnachthas been celebrated since 1927 on the Tuesday after St Othmar's day and recalls a wine delivery that reached the village safely in November — the «Lägel» is the wooden barrel. In the canton of Bern the parade is officially listed in the inventory of living traditions. What began as a harvest thanksgiving is today above all one thing: the first warm evening of the dark season — and the start of a chain that continues four weeks later with candle dipping. It is free on top of that, which puts it in the small group of family evenings that need no budget: 50+ outings under 20 francs.

What we don't know yet — and why it is written here

Of 22 recorded events, 5 still have no confirmed date for 2026. We list them anyway — as open, not as dates.

The Räbechilbi in Richterswilstood here for a long time as a «rule»: always the second Saturday in November, but with no published date for the year. The organiser has since published 14 November 2026 themselves — only from that moment does it appear as confirmed in the calendar, not because the rule suggested it. That is how we treat every gap: we do not fill it with last year's date, even if the list would look fuller, but show for every parade where things stand. Some only have a fixed rule – Horgenhas marched on the first Saturday in November since 1958, and Flawil's Lägelisnacht is always on the Tuesday after St Othmar's day; then we calculate the date and say so. Others name no day yet – the Wollishofen neighbourhood association only writes that the parade will take place in early November 2026, without a specific day. We keep checking. And if you know a date: send us the link, not the date.

Is your municipality's parade missing?
We invent no dates – we only list what is documented. Send us the link to the organiser's page, we check it and add the event. Report a date

Frequently asked questions about the 2026 Räbeliechtli parades

Short and sourced — every answer rests on the organisers' own statements.

🔍

People also ask

Related questions from our magazine

50+ outings under 20 francs →
To the Christmas market calendar →
To the outing radar →

Dates by canton

Cantonal pages exist only where enough verified dates come together. Every other canton appears in full in the table above — we do not build empty pages.

ZH
Zurich: from 30 Oct→12 · Fri 30 Oct
BE
Bern: 1 Nov–13 Nov→4 · Sun 1 Nov
AG
Aargau: mostly at 17:30→3 · Thu 5 Nov

Cantons without their own page still carry too few documented dates. As soon as enough come in, the page appears automatically.

Goes with this

Days out
Swiss Christmas Markets 2026 →Verified date ranges instead of a list of places — and the busiest day of the season.
Destinations
50+ outings under 20 francs →Free experiences and cheap outings across Switzerland.
Destinations
Spring outings in Switzerland →Cherry blossom, insider tips and the best routes — when the light comes back.
Destinations
The outing radar →Filter destinations by profile instead of by advertising budget.
🏆 The ConvivaPlus verdict

The ConvivaPlus verdict on the 2026 Räbeliechtli season

17 dates documented5 still openGerman-speaking Switzerland onlyFriday beats Saturday
The 2026 season is more scattered than instinct suggests: it starts in October, ends in mid-November and has no dominant weekday. Planning for your own municipality, you can rely neither on «Saturday» nor on «early November» — both are true in fewer than half the cases. Only two things are dependable: the date your own association publishes, and the two big events that follow a fixed rule.

Freshness note: This analysis rests on the events we found with a verifiable source up to 6 September 2026. It is not a complete survey of Switzerland and does not claim to be.

Check the latest: ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli Calendar 2026 →

💎 Golden nuggets
The non-obvious — researched, not copied
  • ◆Saturday is a myth. Only 47 per cent of confirmed dates fall on the most common weekday. Plan for a «Räbeliechtli Saturday» and you miss more than half the parades.
  • ◆The second-largest parade in the canton of Zurich takes place in October— and only every two years. Wallisellen sets off on 30 October 2026, with around 1'800 children according to the local association. Search in November and you will no longer find it.
  • ◆In a star march the address decides, not the clock. Höngg starts at five points, Friesenberg at four, Affoltern at three — with departures up to ten minutes apart. The «official start» is no help if your procession leaves from somewhere else.
  • ◆The two most famous parades have no date at all — they have a rule.The Richterswil Räbechilbi is always the second Saturday in November, Flawil's Lägelisnacht has been the Tuesday after St Othmar since 1927. Know the rule and you know the date years in advance.
  • ◆The weather rules contradict each other.Höngg and Friesenberg set off in any weather, Biglen cancels in the rain. There is no common practice — only your own association's.
Written by
Jana Meier
Jana Meier

ConvivaPlus Editor · Family & Day Trips

Writes about day trips, family and local life – honestly assessing what's worth it.

  • Day trips
  • Family
  • Local
  • Cities & regions
Researched & sourced · for Switzerland
Profile & all articles →Our editorial teamUpdated
Sources & methodology24
Researched & source-checked · for Switzerland
As of: As of 5 October 2026 — every date read individually at a first-hand source (organiser or municipality).
Zurich (12)
01
02
Illauer-Räbeliechtli-Umzug — Elternverein Illnau →Illnau-Effretikon · Illnau · checked on 6 September 2026
03
Räbeliechtli Umzug Iberg — Freiwillige aus dem Quartier Iberg →Winterthur · Iberg · checked on 6 September 2026
04
Oerliker Räbeliechtliumzug — Quartierverein Zürich-Oerlikon →Zurich · Oerlikon · checked on 6 September 2026
05
Räbeliechtliumzug Oberstrass — Quartierverein Oberstrass (QVO) →Zurich · Oberstrass · checked on 9 September 2026
06
07
08
Räbeliechtliumzug Albisrieden — Quartierverein Zürich-Albisrieden →Zurich · Albisrieden · checked on 6 September 2026
09
Räbeliechtli Umzug Höngg — Quartierverein Zürich-Höngg →Zurich · Höngg · checked on 5 October 2026
10
11
Räbeliechtli-Umzug Horgen — Pro Horgen →Horgen · checked on 5 October 2026
12
Räbeliechtli-Umzug Wollishofen — Quartierverein Wollishofen →Zurich · Wollishofen · checked on 5 October 2026
Bern (4)
13
14
15
Räbeliechtliumzug Jegenstorf — Elternforum Jegenstorf →Jegenstorf · checked on 6 September 2026
16
Aargau (3)
17
18
19
Schaffhausen (1)
20
St. Gallen (1)
21
Lägelisnacht Flawil — Verkehrsverein Flawil →Flawil · checked on 5 October 2026
Thurgau (1)
22
Räbeliechtli-Umzug Busswil — Dorftreff Rägeboge Busswil →Sirnach · Busswil · checked on 6 September 2026
Context & tradition
23
Living Traditions, Canton of Bern →Cantonal inventory of living traditions — classification of the Räbeliechtliumzug as a custom.
24
ZVV — Räbechilbi Richterswil →Zurich transport authority: access, parade start and the scale of the largest parade.

All information without guarantee. Found an error? → support@conviva-plus.ch

💡Did you know?

Only 47 per cent of the documented 2026 Räbeliechtli parades fall on the most common weekday. There is no «Räbeliechtli Saturday» — only the evening your association has chosen.

Source: ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli Calendar 2026
What do you think of this article?

Found an error or have feedback? Let us know or write to us directly.

🏮 Family · 6 September 2026