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public holidays in Germany

{{Short description|None}}

{{More citations needed|date=May 2008}}

{{Expand German|Feiertage in Deutschland|date=September 2012}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}

Public holidays in Germany can be declared by law either by the Federal German authorities or by the Länder for their respective jurisdictions. The constitution requires that there must be some public holidays. At present the only federal holiday is German Unity Day (Unity Treaty, Art. 2 sect. 2); all the other holidays, even those celebrated all over Germany, are prescribed by state legislation.

By law, "the Sundays and the public holidays remain protected as days of rest from work and of spiritual elevation" (Art. 139 WRV, part of the German constitution via Art. 140 GG). Thus all Sundays are, in a manner, public holidays, but they are not usually recognised within the term "holiday" (except for, normally, Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday).

List by state

class=wikitable style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top"
style="background:#DDF"

! colspan=2 | Name of holiday

! rowspan=2 | Date

! colspan=16| Federal state

style="background:#DDF"

! English

! German

!{{flagicon|Baden-Württemberg}} BW

!{{flagicon|Bavaria}} BY

!{{flagicon|Berlin}} BE

!{{flagicon|Brandenburg}} BB

!{{flagicon|Bremen}} HB

!{{flagicon|Hamburg}} HH

!{{flagicon|Hesse}} HE

!{{flagicon|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern}} MV

!{{flagicon|Lower Saxony}} NI

!{{flagicon|North Rhine-Westphalia}} NW

!{{flagicon|Rhineland-Palatinate}} RP

!{{flagicon|Saarland}} SL

!{{flagicon|Saxony}} SN

!{{flagicon|Saxony-Anhalt}} ST

!{{flagicon|Schleswig-Holstein}} SH

!{{flagicon|Thuringia}} TH

--

! style="text-align:left" | New Year's Day

|style="text-align:left"|Neujahrstag

|style="text-align:left"|1 January

| ✔

✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔
--

! style="text-align:left" | Epiphany

| style="text-align:left;white-space:nowrap" | Heilige Drei Könige

|style="text-align:left"|6 January

| ✔

✔✔
--

! style="text-align:left" | International Women's Day{{Cite web|url=https://www.berlin.de/special/familien/5597854-2864562-frauentag-8-maerz-neuer-feiertag.html|title=Frauentag wird gesetzlicher Feiertag|date=11 February 2019| website=berlin.de| language=de| access-date=2 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618065936/https://www.berlin.de/special/familien/5597854-2864562-frauentag-8-maerz-neuer-feiertag.html |archive-date=18 June 2021}}

|style="text-align:left"|Internationaler Frauentag

|style="text-align:left"|8 March

|

✔✔
style="text-align:left"|Good Friday

|style="text-align:left"|Karfreitag

| style="text-align:left" | Easter Sunday − 2d

| ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔

style="text-align:left" |Easter Monday

| style="text-align:left"|Ostermontag

| style="text-align:left" | Easter Sunday + 1d

| ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔

style="text-align:left" |Labour Day

|style="text-align:left"|Tag der Arbeit

|style="text-align:left"|1 May

| ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔

style="text-align:left" |Ascension Day

|style="text-align:left"|Christi Himmelfahrt

| style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap" | Easter Sunday + 39d

| ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔

style="text-align:left" |Whit Monday

|style="text-align:left"|Pfingstmontag{{cite web | url=https://uol.de/internationalisierung-zu-hause/termin/termin/pfingstmontag-feiertag-in-deutschland | title=Pfingstmontag: Feiertag in Deutschland }}

|style="text-align:left"|Easter Sunday + 50d

| ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔

style="text-align:left" |Corpus Christi

|style="text-align:left"|Fronleichnam

|style="text-align:left"| Easter Sunday + 60d

| ✔ || ✔ || || || || || ✔ || || || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || {{efn|Public holiday only in few Sorbian communities.}} || || || {{efn|Public holiday only in the Catholic district of Eichsfeld.}}

style="text-align:left" | Augsburg Peace Festival

| style="text-align:left" | Augsburger Hohes Friedensfest

| style="text-align:left" | 8 August

| || {{efn|Public holiday only in the city of Augsburg.}} || || || || || || || || || || || || || ||

style="text-align:left" |Assumption Day

|style="text-align:left"|Mariä Himmelfahrt

|style="text-align:left"|15 August

| ||✔{{efn|Public holiday only in approx. 1700 communities with predominantly Catholic population and in the cities of Augsburg and Munich.}}{{efn|name=schoolsClosed}}|| || || || || || || || || || ✔ || || || ||

style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap" | World Children's Day

|style="text-align:left"|Weltkindertag

|style="text-align:left"|20 September

| || || || || || || || || || || || || || || || ✔{{efn|name=from2019onwards}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thueringer-allgemeine.de/web/zgt/politik/detail/-/specific/Thueringen-bekommt-neuen-Feiertag-2070598680|title = Thüringen bekommt neuen Feiertag|date = 28 February 2019}}

style="text-align:left; white-space:nowrap" |German Unity Day

|style="text-align:left"|Tag der Deutschen Einheit

|style="text-align:left"|3 October

| ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || ✔

style="text-align:left" | Reformation Day{{efn|One-time public holiday in all states, including those not normally observing Reformation Day, to mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017.}}

|style="text-align:left"|Reformationstag

|style="text-align:left"|31 October

| || || || ✔ || ✔{{efn|name=reformationDay}}{{cite web|title=Reformationstag wird Feiertag in Bremen| url=https://www.weser-kurier.de/bremen/bremen-stadt_artikel,-reformationstag-wird-feiertag-in-bremen-_arid,1741291.html|access-date=20 June 2018|last=Weser-Kurier|language=de}} || ✔{{efn|name=reformationDay}}{{cite web|title=Hamburg hat einen neuen Feiertag|url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Hamburg-hat-einen-neuen-Feiertag,feiertag232.html|date=28 February 2018|access-date=|last=NDR|language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203075416/https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/hamburg/Hamburg-hat-einen-neuen-Feiertag,feiertag232.html |archive-date=3 February 2019}} || || ✔ || ✔{{efn|name=reformationDay}}{{cite web|title=Beschlossen: Reformationstag wird neuer Feiertag|url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/niedersachsen/Beschlossen-Reformationstag-wird-neuer-Feiertag,feiertag258.html|date=19 June 2018|access-date=19 June 2018|last=NDR|language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180709203801/https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/niedersachsen/Beschlossen-Reformationstag-wird-neuer-Feiertag,feiertag258.html |archive-date=9 July 2018}} || || || || ✔ || ✔ || ✔{{efn|name=reformationDay}}{{cite web|title=Schleswig-Holstein hat einen neuen Feiertag|publisher=NDR|url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/Schleswig-Holstein-hat-einen-neuen-Feiertag,landtag3990.html|access-date=24 February 2018|date=22 February 2018|language=de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203072421/https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/Schleswig-Holstein-hat-einen-neuen-Feiertag,landtag3990.html |archive-date=3 February 2019}} || ✔

style="text-align:left" | All Saints' Day

|style="text-align:left"|Allerheiligen

|style="text-align:left"|1 November

| ✔ || ✔ || || || || || || || || ✔ || ✔ || ✔ || || || ||

--

! style="text-align:left" | Repentance and Prayer Day{{efn|Public holiday in all states until 1994. The holiday was discontinued with introduction of nursing care insurance. Saxony is the only state where employers do not have to pay for nursing care insurance (paid by employees in that state) and where the holiday is still kept.}}

|style="text-align:left"|Buß- und Bettag

| style="text-align:left" | Wed before Totensonntag
i.e. Advent Sunday − 11d

|

{{efn|name=schoolsClosed}}✔
--

! style="text-align:left" |Christmas Day

|style="text-align:left"|Weihnachtstag

|style="text-align:left"|25 December

| ✔

✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔
--

! style="text-align:left" | Second Day of Christmas

| style="text-align:left" | Zweiter Weihnachtsfeiertag

| style="text-align:left" | 26 December

| ✔

✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔✔
--

|colspan="3"|Total number of holidays per state{{efn|name=predominant}}

| 12

131010101010111011111211111011{{efn|name=from2019onwards}}

{{Clear}}

= Notes =

✔ – Public holiday is celebrated in that state.

{{notelist|refs=

{{efn|name=schoolsClosed|Schools are closed all over the state on that day.}}

{{efn|name=from2019onwards|From 2019 onwards.}}

{{efn|name=reformationDay|Four states adopted the Reformation Day as permanent holiday starting in 2018 (Bremen, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein (see table for references)).}}

{{efn|name=predominant|For states where some holidays are not observed uniformly all over the state, such holidays are included in the state's total number of holidays if their celebration is predominant and widespread in that state:

}}

In addition, the state of Brandenburg formally declared Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday as public holidays. As these are Sundays anyway, they have been left out by the other states, nor counted in the table above (the state of Hesse even declared all Sundays public holidays).

Quiet days

A couple of days are designated as stille Tage ("quiet days") by state legislation, which regularly means that public dancing or sport events, music at inns (if live or if not much quieter than usual) etc. are prohibited.

Some public holidays or commemorations are quiet days:

  • Ash Wednesday (in Bavaria)
  • Holy Thursday (in some states; in some of them beginning in the evening)
  • Good Friday
  • Holy Saturday (in some states)
  • Buß- und Bettag (where it is a public holiday and in a couple of other states)
  • All Saints' Day (where it is a public holiday)
  • All Souls' Day (in Lower Saxony and the Saarland)
  • Volkstrauertag
  • Totensonntag (the last Sunday of the Protestant liturgical year)
  • Christmas Eve (beginning in the afternoon, in some states)

The status of quiet days is also given to festivities joyous in nature: in Hesse, the highest Christian holidays are half-quiet days (until midday) and in Rhineland-Palatinate, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day are two-thirds-quiet days (until 4 pm). For details see the German article on the Tanzverbot ("dancing ban").

Flag days

A yet third category that may sometimes be called "holidays" in a sense are the "flag days" (Beflaggungstage). Only the very highest institutions and the military use the national flags at every day, so the directives when flags are to be displayed mark the days in question as special.

Flags are to be shown by Federal Decree on

and by state decrees on other days, such as election days for state parliaments, state constitution days, anniversary of the election of the Federal President (in Berlin) and so forth.

Frequently flags are ordered ad hoc to be shown at half-mast in cases of national mourning.

Unofficial holidays

Either Carnival Monday ("Rosenmontag") or Shrove Tuesday is a de facto holiday in some towns and cities in Catholic western and southern Germany which have a strong Carnival tradition.

Also, Christmas Eve is developing into a semi-holiday: from mid-afternoon it is practically treated as a holiday, and while shops still open in the morning, for other businesses (apart from those that work even on holidays) this is becoming increasingly unusual; schools are closed in any case.{{fact|date=May 2024}}

Customs about holidays

Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt) and Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam) are both always on Thursdays. By taking only one day's leave, employees can have a four-day weekend.

The Three Kings Day, better known as Epiphany, is 6 January, the day after the 12 days of Christmas. In parts of Germany, it has its own local customs.

Public holidays in the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany)

border="0" style="background:#DDF;vertical-align:top" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2"

! Holiday !! Local name !! Date !! Remarks

style="background:#F8F8FF"

| New Year

{{Lang|de|Neujahr|italic=unset}}1 January
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Good Friday

{{Lang|de|Karfreitag|italic=unset}}Easter Sunday – 2d
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Easter Monday

{{Lang|de|Ostermontag|italic=unset}}Easter Sunday + 1duntil 1967 and in 1990
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Labour Day

{{Lang|de|Internationaler Kampf- und Feiertag
der Werktätigen für Frieden und Sozialismus|italic=unset}}		1 May
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Liberation Day

{{Lang|de|Tag der Befreiung|italic=unset}}8 Mayuntil 1967 and in 1985
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Victory Day

{{Lang|de|Tag des Sieges|italic=unset}}9 Mayonly in 1975
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Ascension Day

{{Lang|de|Christi Himmelfahrt|italic=unset}}Easter Sunday + 39duntil 1967 and in 1990
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Whit Monday

{{Lang|de|Pfingstmontag|italic=unset}}Easter Sunday + 50d
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Day of the Republic

{{Lang|de|Tag der Republik|italic=unset}}7 October
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Reformation Day

{{Lang|de|Reformationstag|italic=unset}}31 Octoberuntil 1966
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Day of Repentance and Prayer

{{Lang|de|Buß- und Bettag|italic=unset}}Wed. before 23 Novemberuntil 1966
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| Christmas Day

{{Lang|de|1. Weihnachtsfeiertag|italic=unset}}25 December
style="background:#F8F8FF"

| St Stephen's Day / Boxing Day

{{Lang|de|2. Weihnachtsfeiertag|italic=unset}}26 December

See also

References

{{Public holidays in Europe}}

Germany

Holidays