St. Nicholas Day

December 6, 2009. All over the country, in bakery shops and supermarkets alike, look for the traditional sweet bread baked in the shape of a man with raisin eyes who carries a few twigs: this is the Grittibaenz, called a bonhomme or petit homme de St Nicolas in the French-speaking part of the country.

You can also bake your own: there’s a recipe in  Swiss Cookies: Biscuits for Christmas and All Year Round by Andrew Rushton and Katalin Fekete, check the book out at www.bergli.ch.