Public holidays in Germany

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).

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 article Dancing ban.

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

• Holocaust Memorial Day (27 January, half-mast)
• Labour Day (1 May)
• Europe Day (9 May)
• Constitution Day (23 May)
• Popular Uprising Day (17 June) This day was public holiday under the title of "German Unity Day" from 1954 until 1990 when that unity actually was achieved.
• Resistance Day (20 July)
• German Unity Day (3 October)
• Memorial Day (half-mast) (two Sundays before the first Sunday of Advent)
• Election Day (Bundestag, European Parliament)

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.

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.

Christmas Eve may sometimes be treated as a holiday. Most places will be closed in the afternoon, and many businesses and most schools will be closed the entire day.

April Fools' Day, while not a holiday in the traditional sense, is celebrated in Germany.

Oktoberfest is an annual two-week festival held in Munich, Germany during late September and early October. It is the largest folk festival in the world, though not a formally recognized holiday in any way.

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.

• Holidays in Nazi Germany