Is the parade always on a Saturday?

No — and that is the most common misconception. In the ConvivaPlus analysis Friday and Saturday are level, yet each reaches only 42 per cent of confirmed dates. Confirmed parades fall on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; by fixed rule, Flawil adds a Tuesday.

Where is the largest turnip lantern parade in Switzerland?

In Richterswil on Lake Zurich. The Räbechilbi is regarded as the world's largest turnip lantern parade, with around 40 illuminated floats; in 2026 it starts on Saturday, 14 November at 6 p.m. and lasts about an hour. From 3 p.m. market stalls and open-air concerts fill the old village centre.

Are there Räbeliechtli parades in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino?

Rarely. Räbeliechtli is a German-speaking Swiss custom. The westernmost parade we could document is the one held by the Reformed parish of Cordast, in the bilingual canton of Fribourg (last documented in 2021). Further west and in Ticino the custom is not documented — if you know a parade, send us the link.

Does the parade go ahead in the rain?

Every organiser decides that themselves. The Höngg and Friesenberg parades set off in any weather, Biglen cancels in bad weather and publishes the decision about two days beforehand. Your own association's rule always applies.

Where do I get a turnip?

Usually from the organiser, but days before the parade: in Illnau the parents' association sells turnips on 31 October, at Friesenberg turnips and vouchers are handed out the evening before, in Iberg carving happens together two days earlier, in Baden on the afternoon of the parade with registration and CHF 7 per turnip.

Why is my municipality's parade missing?

Because we only list what we could read at the source. A parade is missing either because the organiser has published nothing for 2026 yet, or because we did not find their page. Send us the link — we check it and add the event.

🏮 Family

Swiss turnip lantern parades 2026: 19 verified dates — and the first one is already lit in October

Q: When is the turnip lantern parade in 2026?

There is no nationwide date. The confirmed parades of 2026 run from Friday, 30 October 2026 to Saturday, 28 November 2026, peaking on the weekend of 6 and 7 November. What counts is always the date set by your own neighbourhood or parents' association.

Every municipality, every neighbourhood and parents' association publishes its parade on its own page. Nowhere do they appear together. We have gathered them: 19 confirmed dates in 17 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, 28 November 2026. The busiest weekend is 6 and 7 November. The parade regarded as the world's largest — the Räbechilbi in Richterswil — is on Saturday, 14 November 2026, starting at 6 p.m.

The ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli calendar

21 October 2026·Every date checked individually at the source

verified dates

each checked at the source

cantons

in 17 municipalities

30 October

first parade

Wallisellen — still in October

42%

Friday and Saturday, each

Saturday is not the default

🏮 When is the turnip lantern parade in 2026?

The confirmed Räbeliechtli parades of 2026 are spread over 29 days, from Friday, 30 October 2026 to Saturday, 28 November 2026 — and yet 6 of the 19 confirmed parades fall on a single evening, 7 November 2026. There is no nationwide date.

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. 29 days separate the earliest from the latest documented date this season. Rely on “sometime in early November” and you will miss the evening in your own municipality.

📅 Friday or Saturday?

Both equally often — and yet most parades are not on a Saturday: 11 of the 19 confirmed parades fall on another day.

Confirmed parades fall on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; by fixed rule, Flawil adds a Tuesday. Anyone who thinks “Räbeliechtli” and “Saturday” in one breath is wrong for most associations.

The assumption that costs families the evening

Almost everyone counts on Saturday. Wrong: in the ConvivaPlus analysis only 42 per cent of the confirmed dates fall on a Friday — and just as many on a Saturday; no weekday does better. The rest spread across Thursday 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.

8 of the 19 one-day events fall on a Friday

Monday0

Tuesday0

Wednesday0

Thursday2

Friday8

Saturday8

Sunday1

🗓️ The ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli calendar

Every event in the calendar 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.

Canton

Weekday

Search a place

DatesOnly fixed dates

23 events in the calendar, 19 of them with a fixed date

verified · ConvivaPlus

The places in detail

22 pages of their own, from Wallisellen to Richterswil — the whole season is in the calendar above. Each page has its dates and everything to know before you go.

📊

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 →

⚔️ 7 November, 18:00: 4 districts at the same minute

On 7 November 2026, 6 of the 19 confirmed parades take place — more than on any other evening of the season. 4 of them set off in Zurich at exactly 18:00: Friesenberg, Affoltern, Albisrieden and Wollishofen.

For families this means choosing: if you have children in two districts or are invited to the grandparents next door, you cannot walk in two parades at the same minute. To avoid the crowds, pick an evening before or after; the calendar above filters by weekday.

🕕 Start times: 17:30 to 19:00

The earliest parades start at 17:30, the latest only at 19:00 in Zürich-Oberstrass. One parade can be over before another begins: by 19:00, Baden is already back — the very time at which Zürich-Oberstrass, on its own evening, only sets off.

The most common start is 18:00: 10 of 21 parades with a published time. For many families the evening begins in the middle of dinner, and at the latest start it has long been completely dark. With small children, the early parade beats the big one.

🏙️ Räbeliechtli in Zurich: 7 districts, 2 evenings

In the city of Zurich alone, 7 districts run their own parade, each with its own association, route and start time — and all of them on just 2 evenings. Residents have a choice, but hardly any fallback dates.

The map shows the parades with a 2026 date: the darker the canton, the more parades. The custom itself is German-Swiss — the westernmost parade we could document is the one in Cordast, in the bilingual canton of Fribourg (last documented in 2021, no 2026 date published). Many schools and kindergartens publish their date only shortly before; each one is added as soon as it is online.

Where the turnips burn across the country

…

112

Source: ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli Calendar 2026

Canton	Events	date set	First date
ZurichZH	12	11	Fri 30 Oct
BernBE	5	4	Sun 1 Nov
AargauAG	3	3	Thu 5 Nov
SchaffhausenSH	1	0	date still open
St. GallenSG	1	0	date still open
ThurgauTG	1	1	Fri 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
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
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
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.
4
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.

🌧️ If it rains: who walks, who cancels?

Same question, opposite answers: Höngg and Friesenberg explicitly set off in any weather, Biglen cancels if the weather is bad.

Biglen publishes its decision about two days ahead on the association's website. There is no common rule — your own association's rule applies, and it almost never appears in an events listing, only in our detail view and on the association's site.

🧒 How big is a Räbeliechtli parade?

From a kindergarten group to a village festival: in Wallisellen around 1,800 children take part, according to the local improvement society — and the parade only happens every two years. The Räbechilbi in Richterswil shows around 40 floats.

At the other end are parades like Küttigen, explicitly for kindergarten children and the forest playgroup: start at 6 p.m., over by 6.45 p.m. Bigger is not better — for small children the short parade is often the nicer one.

📜 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 Lägelisnacht has 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 23 events in the calendar, 4 still have no confirmed date for 2026. We list them anyway — as open, not as dates.

The Räbechilbi in Richterswil stood 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 – Horgen has 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, such as Stein am Rhein and Wiedlisbach. And Wollishofen shows how quickly that changes: until early October the neighbourhood association wrote only “early November 2026”; when we checked on 19 October, its page gave 7 November – and since then, so does ours. 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.

🔍

Dates by canton

Zurich leads with 12 events — and every canton links to its own page with all the dates.

Zurich: from 30 Oct →12 · Fri 30 Oct

Bern: open until 28 Nov →5 · Sun 1 Nov

Aargau: mostly at 17:30 →3 · Thu 5 Nov

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.

Family

Candle dipping in Switzerland 2026 →After the turnips, the wax: verified runs, opening hours and wax prices.

Family

St Nicholas events 2026 →Where St Nicholas arrives — verified dates by canton.

🏆 The ConvivaPlus verdict

The ConvivaPlus verdict on the 2026 Räbeliechtli season

19 dates documented4 still openGerman-Swiss customFriday level with Saturday

The 2026 season is more scattered than instinct suggests: it starts in October, ends only on Saturday, 28 November 2026 and has no dominant weekday. Planning for your own municipality, you cannot rely on “Saturday” — it covers fewer than half of the dates. Nor is “early November” a date: 5 of 19 parades fall outside the first week of November. Only two things are dependable: the date your own association publishes, and the fixed rule of Horgen and Flawil, from which the date can be worked out every year.

When we last checked: on 21 October 2026 — 19 parades with a confirmed date, each read at its source — municipality, school or club. Is yours missing? Tell us, it goes in as soon as the date is published.

Check the latest: ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli Calendar 2026 →

💎 Golden nuggets

The non-obvious — researched, not copied

◆Saturday is a myth. 11 of the 19 confirmed parades fall on another day — plan for “Räbeliechtli Saturday” and you miss the majority.
◆Around 1,800 children — and only every two years. Wallisellen sets off on 30 October 2026, with around 1,800 children according to the local improvement society, and already in October. Search in November and you will not 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.
◆Some parades have no date at all — they have a rule. Horgen has marched on the first Saturday in November since 1958, Flawil's Lägelisnacht on 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

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 21 October 2026

Sources & methodology29

Researched & source-checked · for Switzerland

As of: 21 October 2026 — every date read individually at a first-hand source (organiser or municipality).

Zurich (12)

Walliseller Räbenliechtliumzug — Verschönerungsverein Wallisellen (VVW) →Wallisellen · checked on 19 October 2026

Illauer-Räbeliechtli-Umzug — Elternverein Illnau →Illnau-Effretikon · Illnau · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtli Umzug Iberg — Freiwillige aus dem Quartier Iberg →Winterthur · Iberg · checked on 21 October 2026

Oerliker Räbeliechtliumzug — Quartierverein Zürich-Oerlikon →Zurich · Oerlikon · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtliumzug Oberstrass — Quartierverein Oberstrass (QVO) →Zurich · Oberstrass · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtli-Umzug Friesenberg (Sternmarsch) — Familienheim-Genossenschaft Zürich (FGZ) →Zurich · Friesenberg · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtli-Umzug Zürich-Affoltern — Quartierverein Zürich-Affoltern →Zurich · Affoltern · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtliumzug Albisrieden — Quartierverein Zürich-Albisrieden →Zurich · Albisrieden · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtli-Umzug Wollishofen — Quartierverein Wollishofen →Zurich · Wollishofen · checked on 19 October 2026

Räbeliechtli Umzug Höngg — Quartierverein Zürich-Höngg →Zurich · Höngg · checked on 5 October 2026

Räbechilbi Richterswil — Arbeitsgruppe Räbechilbi, Verkehrs- und Verschönerungsverein Richterswil →Richterswil · checked on 11 September 2026

Räbeliechtli-Umzug Horgen — Pro Horgen →Horgen · checked on 19 October 2026

Bern (5)

Räbeliechtliumzug Biglen — Verein «Gemeinsam für Biglen» →Biglen · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtli- und Laternliumzug Meinisberg — Elternverein Meinisberg →Meinisberg · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtliumzug Jegenstorf — Elternforum Jegenstorf →Jegenstorf · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtliumzug am Weihnachtsmarkt Brienz — Weihnachtsmarkt Brienz →Brienz · checked on 20 October 2026

Räbeliechtliumzug Wiedlisbach — Spielgruppe und Kindergärten Wiedlisbach →Wiedlisbach · checked on 19 October 2026

Aargau (3)

Räbeliechtli-Umzug im Kurpark Baden — Familienzentrum Karussell Baden →Baden · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtli-Umzug Küttigen — Elternverein Küttigen, zusammen mit der Schule Küttigen →Küttigen · checked on 21 October 2026

Räbeliechtli-Umzug Wettingen — Familienstern Wettingen →Wettingen · checked on 21 October 2026

Schaffhausen (1)

Räbeliechtli-Umzug Stein am Rhein — Familienverein Stein am Rhein →Stein am Rhein · checked on 19 October 2026

St. Gallen (1)

Lägelisnacht Flawil — Verkehrsverein Flawil →Flawil · checked on 19 October 2026

Thurgau (1)

Räbeliechtli-Umzug Busswil — Dorftreff Rägeboge Busswil →Sirnach · Busswil · checked on 21 October 2026

Context & tradition

Living Traditions, Canton of Bern →Cantonal inventory of living traditions — classification of the Räbeliechtliumzug as a custom.

ZVV — Räbechilbi Richterswil →Zurich transport authority: access, parade start and the scale of the largest parade.

Municipality of Wallisellen — Räbenliechtliumzug →Date, start time and size of the parade (every two years).

FGZ — Räbeliechtli-Umzug Friesenberg →Star march with four assembly points, weather rule.

Gemeinsam für Biglen — Räbeliechtliumzug →Sunday date and cancellation in bad weather.

Reformed parish of Cordast FR — Räbeliechtli parade 2021 →Westernmost documented parade, in the bilingual canton of Fribourg (réformés parish bulletin, November 2021).

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

💡Did you know?

On 7 November 2026, 4 Räbeliechtli parades set off at the same minute in Zurich. There is no “Räbeliechtli Saturday” — only the evening your association has chosen.

Source: ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli Calendar 2026

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🏮 Family · 21 October 2026

Swiss turnip lantern parades 2026: 19 verified dates — and the first one is already lit in October

🏮 When is the turnip lantern parade in 2026?

📅 Friday or Saturday?

🗓️ The ConvivaPlus Räbeliechtli calendar

The places in detail

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of Zurich

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of Bern

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of Aargau

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of Schaffhausen

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of St. Gallen

Turnip lantern parades in the canton of Thurgau

⚔️ 7 November, 18:00: 4 districts at the same minute

🕕 Start times: 17:30 to 19:00

🏙️ Räbeliechtli in Zurich: 7 districts, 2 evenings

Where the turnips burn across the country

🎒 What parents need to know beforehand

🌧️ If it rains: who walks, who cancels?

🧒 How big is a Räbeliechtli parade?

📜 Why turnips at all?

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

Frequently asked questions about the 2026 Räbeliechtli parades

People also ask

Dates by canton

Goes with this

The ConvivaPlus verdict on the 2026 Räbeliechtli season