Such holidays (state and religious) as German Unity Day, Christmas, New Year, Easter, May Day are celebrated throughout the country, while others (for example, Catholic Feast of the Assumption or Protestant Reformation Day) are only in certain federal states. Still others are celebrated only in some cities and regions, such as the Rhineland Carnival, Bavarian Fasching, rural harvest festivals...
And there are also, so to speak, informal holidays that are not days off: Oktoberfest, Valentine's Day, Halloween. Let's not forget about housewarmings, anniversaries, weddings, the birth of a child, baptisms, first communions... In short, Germans love to have fun and celebrate. Any excuse will do. From the many German holidays, we have chosen a top ten most popular ones.
Witches' Sabbath and May Day
The night from April 30 to May 1 has been celebrated in Germany since time immemorial. On Walpurgis Night, witches (or those who, so to speak, took their form) gathered for the annual sabbath, while more respectable people honored Saint Walpurga, the patroness of sailors and peasant women. Today, German youth celebrate all night, "dancing into May" as it is called, and boys place a "maypole" – a birch tree decorated with colorful ribbons – under the windows of the girls they love.
And the next day, on May Day, trade unions and various parties (usually left-wing) organize traditional demonstrations and rallies – unfortunately, not always peaceful. May 1 in Germany is the official Labor Day and a day off.
German Unity Day
On the night of October 3, 1990, Germany celebrated the reunification of the country. Since then, German Unity Day has been the main national holiday. Festivals, open-air concerts, fairs, and folk festivities are traditionally part of the celebration program of this unforgettable event in modern German history.
Valentine's Day
No sooner has New Year passed, followed by Epiphany (the Three Kings who brought gifts to the newborn Jesus – in Russia they are called the Magi), than February 14 – Valentine's Day – approaches. It has been celebrated in Germany relatively recently, since the early 1950s. It first became a holiday for lovers about 500 years ago in England and Scotland.
Valentine's Day is very popular in Germany. Germans give millions of red roses and chocolate hearts to their wives, lovers, and girlfriends. Opponents of this holiday (there are such) say that it is not a real holiday but a product of commercialization and clever marketing. Perhaps. But the joy of finding a "valentine" in the mailbox on February 14 is no less for that.
Carnivals
In ancient Rome, after February 14, the Lupercalia began – festivities in honor of the god Faunus. It is very possible that this is where the roots of today's carnival lie. Revelers in costume literally occupy the cities of the Rhineland, where the carnival is especially lavish. Up to a million tourists come to Cologne for the main procession of jesters and mummers on the so-called "Crazy Monday". Carnival is called the fifth season here.
Participating in the main carnival procession and in the jesters' "sessions" is a great honor. The costumes, as well as the candies and bouquets of flowers that participants throw, cost a lot of money, and the costumed revelers pay for them, of course, out of their own pocket. This disproves yet another stereotype – about German stinginess.
In the southern regions of Germany, a holiday similar to the Rhineland carnival is celebrated more traditionally: costumed people wear frightening masks and chase onlookers with brooms.
Easter
The phrases "Catholic Christmas" and "Catholic Easter" commonly used here are inaccurate. In fact, not only Catholics, but also believers of the Evangelical Church, and many Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter according to the Gregorian calendar. A Western (not only German) peculiarity: the Easter bunny brings colored Easter eggs and sweets to children. Shop windows of various German stores are decorated with chocolate bunny figures: several tens, if not hundreds, of thousands are consumed in Germany.
Women's Day and Mother's Day
March 8 is also celebrated in Germany. Moreover, it was the German Clara Zetkin who initiated the celebration of International Women's Day. True, in Germany it is a regular working day. But here they honor not only women "in general" but also – separately – mothers. The second Sunday after Easter is the official Mother's Day. In kindergartens and primary schools, children craft, draw, and sculpt for this day: it is customary to give mothers something made with their own hands.
Exorcism of Spirits and All Saints' Day
Until relatively recently, few people in Germany knew about Halloween, which takes place on October 31, and almost no one celebrated it. But this once pagan tradition, having returned to Europe from across the ocean, has taken root and even yielded abundant fruits.
The popularity of pumpkin "heads" with candles inside, costume parties, and children's celebrations is growing. And after driving out the spirits of darkness, on November 1, Germans (especially Catholics) celebrate All Saints' Day. On this and the following day, discos are closed and loud music is banned in Catholic regions of Germany. This is the so-called "quiet holiday" – like, for example, Good Friday.