German festivals
There are more parties and festivals in Germany each year than any other country in Europe except perhaps France and most of these holidays are paid ones.
In fact, there are so many of them that we thought to give you a month by month list of them So the next time you visit you will know why everything is close to this or that date.
Let's begin, of course, with the start of the year Festivals in Germany Silvester New Year or New Year's Eve or New Year's Day Neujahr, Germans usually give each other little pigs marzipan, or cards with pigs, chimney sweeps, a pfennig, horse shoes, ladybugs or four-leaf clovers that are all considered to bring good luck to the owner.
All these elements could be made of plastic, candy, choclote etc and you will find in most stores where they sell food they are especially abundant in railway stations and store buses, which are roughly the only open vacation days.
On January 6, the Germans celebrate the feast of Heilige Drei KГ nig three kings saint, the journey of the three wise men who came to bring gifts to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem is a holiday of the state in some land states Bavaria, Baden WГјrttemberg and Sachsen-Anhalt most school children are still on vacation until this day.
This is also the day when most people take their tree and Christmas decorations that you can see groups of Sternsinger star singers, children dressed as the three Magi, carrying a lantern star on a stick, they go door singing door songs associated with festivals in Germany and collect donations for relief projects in the third World.
If they stop at your house, they will write white clak above the door something like CMB 20 10 20 and 10 for the year 2010 in this case and the letters stand for the Latin words Christus mansionem benedictat God bless this House.
It also happens that these letters are the first of the three Magi Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
January is also the holidays in costume for one of the best festivals in Germany, ith the Karneval or Fasching, which ends with the beginning of Lent in February or March depending on the year.
Although there is no official state holiday in February, there are some well known festivals in Germany.
One of them is the Karneval And do not expect to do much business done in the six days before Ash Wednesday in some areas date Ash Wednesday varies from year to your at Easter which it is bound.
Germans call this time of festivals in Germany with Karneval or Fasching or Fastnacht the fifth season A season costume parties and parades and pranks To learn more about Karneval click.
Another festivals in Germany which is famous is the day of Valentine Valentinestag and as elsewhere, it is February 14 To learn more how the Germans celebrate, click on the day of Valentine.
If you travel to Germany in the spring, you might be surprised to find that there is a holiday place almost every week.
One of these festivals in Germany, celebrated by the German Kurpfalz and the area around it, as the Neckar valley, is held a few weeks before Easter and is the Sommertagszug I translate freely here Day Parade of summer.
This special event, the Sommertagszug is celebrated three weeks before Easter the exact date can vary from one city to another because of local traditions, Sonntag Laetare Laetare Sunday, also called Mid-Lent Mittfasten, or French, mid carГЄme in the southwestern provinces of Germany is FrГјhlingfest a spring festival to welcome the summer and winter that his time has come and you have to go.
Zug parade many children dressed as little ducklings wearing yellow rain jacket and duck head as parades town hats holding big Pretzels placed at the tip sticks decorated with multicolored ribbons Some of these great Pretzels have egg cooked medium.
It is also pulled by happy men and boys dressed in costumes, a snowman standing on a dry tree straw representing old winter ahead on a green tree decorated with garlands colorful eggs, we can see a rooster and a crane representing spring and summer during the parade, children sign winter reveals the song to go that summer is here.
At the end of the parade, the winter tree and snowman are burned in a bonfire with everyone standing around her and sang with happiness that winter is death, we have been delivered death and Strih, Strah, Stroh, Der Sommerdag do summer day is here.
So a few weeks before Easter, many cities hold Ostermarkt Easter markets; much like the most famous Christmas Market stores in these markets sell beautifully decorated eggs, spring crafts and ornaments of all kinds.
Of course, chocolate bunnies and eggs also appear in stores soon after the disappearance of the St. Nikolaus But be careful with these chocolates many German Easter bunnies and eggs are filled with brandy or other liquor Not exactly suitable for small children.
Another word of advice Germans like their silence Thus, the rule of do not disturb your neighbors apply on holidays and festivals in Germany, as well as Sunday No loud music outside, no lawn mowing or washing the car by the side of the house.
And children usually have 2 weeks vacation from school at Easter To learn more about Easter clicked.
Another festivals in Germany in the spring is the day Christi Himmelfart Ascension and is a Thursday, 40 days after Easter Since the late 19th century, this has been a traditional day for men to outputs with clubs or groups that they owned and because it is celebrated as the day Jesus returned to his father in heaven, it is also celebrated as the day of Vatertag father in Germany.
As for Mother's Day, it is the same as that in the United States on the second Sunday of May.
Yet another holiday or festival, Pentecost Pfingsten or also called Pentecost falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and is a true holiday in Bavaria a very Catholic region of Germany where children have two weeks holiday of school for Pentecost In other parts of Germany, there could be shorter holidays or just the holiday itself.
The name itself, Pentecost is the Greek pentekoste, which means the 50th day after Easter is the celebration of the ascension of the Holy Spirit on the apostles after Jesus' ascension to heaven 10 days before that it also be regarded as the actual date of the founding of the Christian Church.
Corpus Christi Day, one of the other festivals in Germany, on Thursday after Pentecost is celebrated the Christian sacrament of Holy Communion.
In many cities, people decorated their homes with fresh greens, flags and small altars outdoors a procession led by children who have received their First Communion a few weeks walking earlier in the streets Joining the procession is the priest who wore under canopy the hosts that are placed in a decorated container Sometimes the church service is held outdoors.
Now, May 1, in addition to being the International Day of Labor in Germany, it is also the day of Maibaum maypoles a well-known festivals in Germany.
Customs vary from one region to another, but some things remain the same young people in the city get a big tree and cut all the branches except the top one then the tree is decorated with painted paper or steamers and in the city center on April 30 it's usually quite a show and most people in the city will celebrate there.
And now the real fun begins the tree should be kept all night if the young men of neighboring villages would come and steal it would be a great dishonor for young men, but also for the entire city and so, what better excuse to stay up all night partying.
There is another reason to be alert on April 30 according to German legend, this is the night that the Hexen witches gather in the Harz Mountains of central Germany it is called Walpurgisnacht Walpurgis Night Hexenacht or the Night of witches.
In the Land of ThГјringen on or around the Brocken, the highest mountain in the Harz, there is much activity tonight.
In other parts of Germany, the children can play pranks on their neighbors put soap in the windows, the toilet paper in the trees, moving the garbage in the middle of the road, etc. They can blame witches.
Resumption of spring holidays and festivals in Germany.
Sommerstagzug few weeks before Easter, holiday in parts Palmensonntag Palm Sunday a week before Easter Sunday, GrГјndonnerstag Sunday Thursday before Easter not vacation Karfreitag Friday German holiday Easter Sunday Ostersonntag Sunday Ostermontag Easter Monday German holiday Tag der Arbeit International Day German labor rental Christi Himmelfahrt Ascension holiday Vatertag German German German Father's day Mother House Muttertag day, same date that the US No vacation Pfingstsonntag Pentecost Sunday Pentecost Monday Pfingstmontag German holiday Corpus Christi Corpus Christi day German holiday.
As mentioned earlier, some of these festivals in Germany dates vary from year to year and region to region, to better ask around your area if it is a holiday and when.
Except for August 15 with the Day of Maria Himmelfahrt Mary Ascension is a public holiday in Bavaria, there are no holidays in July, August and September in Germany That said; there are many festivals in Germany and historical events to visit during these months.
Many cities, like Hirschhorn, a medieval festival with a medieval market and a Ritterspiele Ritter is a knight where knights in tournament play One of the most famous medieval tournament will for several weekends in July in Kaltenberg near Munich the cities of Rothenburg and DinkelsbГјhl as festivals and historic pieces to commemorate their freedom from the destruction of the 30-year war.
In addition, every 10 years, the Alpine town of Oberammergau puts on the most famous passion play and many cities and towns have all kinds of shows and celebrations to mark them to be 800, 900 or 1000 years usually plays and large community party that goes with it.
In short, there is always so much happening, so many festivals in Germany in the summer, that the only way to know that if you go in your area is to talk to your neighbors or read the news.
The local German newspapers are very useful, even if you read very little German, titles and images tell you much.
October has two main festivals in Germany the thanksgiving, the German harvest festival on the equivalent of Thanksgiving in North America is observed on the first Sunday of October with parades in cities and harvesting fruit on display on the altar during religious services and Tag des Deutschen Einheit the German unity day This day is to celebrate the reunification of east and West to become a country in 1990, is the latest festival celebrated Germany and is held on October 3.
Another event that is not where German and very little German children had heard about until a few years is the Holloween But with his Jack-O -Lantern it changes slowly, with many Americans living on US military bases in Germany, German children began to see pumpkins and Halloween costumes Some of these children have even started door to door for trick or treat.
But unless your neighbors know Halloween, your children may be very disappointed this is not a German custom, very few people know, and they will not be ready for visitors on October 31 asking for candy or what is SГјsses oder es gibt Saures German.
November is a month in Germany for solemn observances and reflective There are not many festivals and holidays in Germany this month In fact, there are only the first of November Allerheiligen TOUSSAINT, which is a public holiday State of Bavaria and as this holiday is a Catholic, was not observed in most German states where the majority is Protestant.
During that day, where it is celebrated, family tombs are decorated with autumn arrangements and lots of special church services to commemorate the saints who didn a special day in the calendar of church and the Christian martyrs.
November 2, All Souls Day Allerseelen is dedicated to the memory of those who died is not in itself a holiday, but a time of reflection on his own life.
The day of repentance and prayer protestant Buss und Bettag is always a Wednesday in November is not a holiday in Bavaria mainly Catholic, but some German children might not have school.
And on Sunday before date is the National Day of Mourning Volkstrauertag It is dedicated to the memory of victims of the Nazi terror and the dead of the two world wars commemorative events are held at the monument and elsewhere.
Then, on Sunday after Volkstrauertag is known as Totensonntag Sunday the dead is a Protestant tradition of visiting the graves of their friends and family members Because of the solemn nature of these celebrations, no street decorations or parades or festivals are allowed during the weekends and on Busstag No music should be played loudly outside either.
November 11 has two major festivals in Germany, it is the day of St. Martin, bishop of Tours, who died around 400 AD and was known for his kindness to the poor in many restaurants, and in many German homes you will see Martinsganz Martin's goose on the menu in November is customery eat goose at this time of the year to celebrate the Bishop of Tours.
The other event that takes place in November has absolutely nothing to do with the solemnity of the month is in fact contrary to exactly 11 11 pm on the 11th day of the 11th month, the Karneval or Tuesday Gras season officially begins.
Especially in the Rheinland Bonn, Cologne and Mainz you could meet people dressed in extravagant costumes that day and that day only in November.
In fact, unless that day, November 11, you will not hear anything again about Karneval or fashing until after the Christmas season in mid-January The Fasching Karneval called in the south Germany, reached its peak in February with parades and balls in period costume.
It is the Christmas season and Germans know how to celebrate In fact, this country seems to be made for this festival.
The start of the season on the first Sunday of December, which is the first Sunday of Advent is also on Sunday that most Weinachtmarkt Christmas markets open their doors, so to speak.
Most towns and villages have their own market and they are a pleasure to visit Although the streets and buildings can be decorated at this stage of the season, most Germans wait until Christmas Eve to put their tree To Read more about the wonderful time, click Christmas.
But before Christmas Eve, another event occurs the visit of Saint-Nicolas on the eve of December 6 Children put their shoes near their beds and hoping to find small gifts in them in the morning to find out more St-Nik, Click on it.
It is important to note that, although it varies form region to region, most stores close around noon on December 24 and will not reopen before 27 as 25 and 26 are public holidays for the whole Germany and are spent with family and friends.
Another unusual aspect of the Christmas season in Germany is baking cookies most women don t bake cookies during the year, except for Christmas But then, there will be cookies galore most women cook dozens of small fancy cookies many types of one week or more before the holiday.
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