Is Christmas necessary?

20 November 2015. The significance of Christmas has greatly changed in the last few decades. Individually, it increasingly depends on the onlooker’s point of view and involves a wide variety of perspectives, perceptions and also questions: is the Christmas-induced economisation of giving presents an important economic factor or does it completely miss the point of Christmas? What do we expect of our friends and relations during the Festive Season? Is Christmas necessary at all? Or, what would we be like without Christmas? Disoriented on dark days or liberated from traditional constraints?

Between economic aspects and tradition

Guests will be involved in a discussion with Franz Kreissl (Head of the Office for Pastoral Care and Education and member of the Ordinariate Governing Council, Diocese of St.Gallen), Jürg Niggli (Managing Director of the St.Gallen Addiction Aid Foundation) and Carmela Lüchinger (owner of the Lüchinger Christmas Decoration Gallery). Prof. Dr. Sibylle Minder Hochreutener, Vice-President of FHS St.Gallen, will moderate the evening in the Textile Museum.

The Science Café deliberately eschews lectures. Instead, the focus will be on discussions with guests over a cup of coffee. On two further evenings, experts from the Pädagogische Hochschule, the Fachhochschule and the University of St.Gallen will discuss with guests the St.Gallen Schnitzelbängg (i.e. satirical texts read out in public during carnival) and trends in education.

Science Café in St.Gallen: topics and dates

Wednesday, 25 November 2015, 5.30 to 7 p.m. | Is Christmas necessary?

Wednesday, 20 January 2016, 5.30 to 7 p.m. | St.Gallen Schnitzelbängg: between tradition and embarrassment?

Wednesday, 6 April 2016, 5.30 to 7 p.m. | What is the Maturität certificate worth today?

All the discussions will take place in the St.Gallen Textile Museum, Vadianstrasse 2.

Everyday culture in St.Gallen’s Main Post Office

All the discussion will take place in the St.Gallen Textile Museum, Vadianstrasse 2. The Science Café is part of an SNSF project entitled urban traditions, and this is exactly what will be on show in an interactive video exhibition in the Municipal Library in St.Gallen’s Main Post Office from 16 January to 27 February 2016. 14 people from all over Switzerland – ordinary citizens, as well as researchers from the field of ethnology and the Federal Office of Culture – will relate how they live out everyday culture and why it is important. In addition, the audience will have an opportunity to present their own urban traditions.