German Holidays and Customs Calendar

Holidays and Observances in German-Speaking Europe

Holidays (Feiertage) marked with an asterisk ( * ) are official national holidays in Germany and/or the other German-speaking countries. Some of the holidays listed here are regional or specifically Catholic or Protestant celebrations only.

Note that certain holidays (Erntedankfest, Muttertag/Mother's Day, Vatertag/Father's Day, etc.) are observed on different dates in different countries in Europe and around the world. For holidays that do not fall on a fixed date, see the Bewegliche Feste (movable feasts / holidays) table following the January through December table.

Holidays with Fixed Dates

Feiertag	Holiday	Datum/Date
Neujahr*	New Year's Day	1. Januar (am ersten Januar)
Heilige Drei Könige*	Epiphany, Three Kings	6. Januar (am sechsten Januar) A public holiday in Austria and the states of Baden-Württemberg, Bayern (Bavaria), and Sachsen-Anhalt in Germany.
Mariä Lichtmess	Candlemas (Groundhog Day)	2. Februar (am zweiten Feb.) Catholic regions
Valentinstag	Valentine's Day	14. Februar (am vierzehnten Feb.)
Fasching, Karneval	Mardi Gras Carnival	In Catholic regions in Feb. or Mar., depending on the date of Easter. See Movable Feasts
	Day of the Ill	am ersten Sonntag im März (first Sunday in March; only in Switzerland)
	International Women's Day	8. März (am achten März)
Josephstag	St. Joseph's Day	19. März (am neunzehnten März; only in parts of Switzerland)
Mariä Verkündigung	Annunciation	25. März (am fünfundzwanzigsten März)
Erster April	April Fool's Day	1. April (am ersten April)
Karfreitag*	Good Day	Friday before Easter; see Movable Feasts
Ostern	Easter	Ostern falls in March or April, depending on the year; see Movable Feasts
Walpurgisnacht	Walpurgis Night	30. April (am dreißigsten April) in Germany (Harz). Witches (Hexen) gather on eve of St. Walpurga's feast day (May Day).
Erster Mai* Tag der Arbeit	May Day Labor Day	1. Mai (am ersten Mai)
Muttertag	Mother's Day	2nd Sunday in May (Austria, Germany, Switz.)
	Father's Day	12. Juni 2005 2nd Sunday in June (Austria only; diff. date in Germany)
Johannistag	St. John the Baptist's Day	24. Juni (am vierundzwanzigsten Juni)
Siebenschläfer	St. Swithin's Day	27. Juni (am siebenundzwanzigsten Juni) Folklore: If it rains on this day it will rain for the next seven weeks. A Siebenschläfer is a dormouse.

Feiertag	Holiday	Datum/Date
Gedenktag des Attentats auf Hitler 1944**	Commemorative day of the assassination attempt on Hitler in 1944	20. Juli - Germany
National- feiertag*	Swiss National Day	1. August (am ersten Aug.) Celebrated with fireworks
Mariä Himmelfahrt	Assumption	15. August
Michaelis (das) der Michaelistag	Michaelmas (Feast of St. Michael the Archangel)	29. September (am neunundzwangzigsten Sept.)
Oktoberfest München	Oktoberfest - Munich	Two-week celebration beginning in late Sept. and ending on the first Sunday in October.
Erntedankfest	German Thanksgiving	End of September or early October; not an official holiday
Tag der deutschen Einheit*	Day of German Unity	3. Oktober - Germany's national holiday was moved to this date after the Berlin Wall came down.
National- feiertag*	National Holiday (Austria)	26. Oktober (am sechsundzwanzigsten Okt.) Austria's national holiday, called Flag Day, commemorates the founding of the Republik Österreich in 1955.
Halloween	Halloween	31. Oktober (am einunddreißigsten Okt.) Halloween is not a traditional German celebration, but in recent years it has become increasingly popular in Austria and Germany.
Allerheiligen	All Saints' Day	1. November (am ersten Nov.)
Allerseelen	All Souls' Day	2. November (am zweiten Nov.)
Martinstag	Martinmas	11. November (am elften Nov.) Traditional roast goose (Martinsgans) and lantern light processsions for children on the evening of the 10th. The 11th is also the official start of the Fasching/Karneval season in some regions.
Nikolaustag	St. Nicholas Day	6. Dezember (am sechsten Dez.) - On this day the white-bearded St. Nicholas (not Santa Claus) brings gifts to children who left their shoes in front of the door the night before.
Mariä Empfängnis	Feast of the Immaculate Conception	8. Dezember (am achten Dez.)
Heiligabend	Christmas Eve	24. Dezember (am vierundzwanzigsten Dez.) - This is when German children receive their presents (die Bescherung) around the Christmas tree (der Tannenbaum).
Weihnachten*	Christmas Day	25. Dezember (am fünfundzwanzigsten Dez.).
Zweiter Weihnachtstag*	Second Day of Christmas	26. Dezember (am sechsundzwanzigsten Dez.). Known as Stephanstag, St. Stephen's Day, in Austria.
Silvester	New Year's Eve	31. Dezember (am einunddreißigsten Dez.).

Movable Holidays with No Fixed DateMovable Feasts | Bewegliche Feste

Feiertag	Holiday	Datum/Date
Schmutziger Donnerstag Weiberfastnacht	Dirty Thursday Women's Carnival	Last Thursday of Fasching/Karneval when women traditionally snip off men's ties
Rosenmontag	Rose Monday	Date depends on Easter (Ostern) - Date of Karneval parades in the Rheinland - 4 Feb. 2008, 23 Feb. 2009
Fastnacht Karneval	Shrove Tuesday “Mardi Gras”	Date depends on Easter (Ostern) - Carnival (Mardi Gras)
Aschermittwoch	Ash Wednesday	End of the Carnival season; start of Lent (Fastenzeit)
Palmsonntag	Palmsunday	Sunday before Easter (Ostern)
Beginn des Passahfestes	First Day of Passover
Gründonnerstag	Maundy Thursday	Thursday before Easter From Latin mandatum in the prayer for Christ's washing of the feet of the disciples on the Thursday before Easter.
Karfreitag	Good Friday	Friday before Easter
Ostern Ostersonntag*	Easter Easter Sunday	On the first Sunday following the first full moon of spring
Ostermontag*	Easter Monday	A public holiday in Germany and most of Europe
Weißer Sonntag	Low Sunday	First Sunday after Easter Date of first communion in the Catholic church
Muttertag	Mother's Day	Second Sunday in May**
Christi Himmelfahrt	Ascension Day (of Jesus to heaven)	A public holiday; 40 days after Easter (see Vatertag below)
	Father's Day	On Ascension Day in Germany. Not the same as the U.S. family-oriented Father's Day. In Austria, it's in June.
Pfingsten	Pentecost, Whitsun, Whit Sunday	A public holiday; the 7th Sun. after Easter. In some German states Pfingsten is a 2-week school holiday.
Pfingstmontag	Whit Monday	A public holiday
Fronleichnam	Corpus Christi	A public holiday in Austria and Catholic parts of Germany, Switzerland; Thursday following Trinity Sunday (the Sunday after Pentecost)
Volkstrauertag	National Day of Mourning	In November on the Sunday two weeks prior to the first Advent Sunday. In memory of Nazi victims and the dead in both world wars. Similar to Veteran's Day or Memorial Day in the US.
Buß- und Bettag	Day of Prayer and Repentance	The Wed. eleven days prior to the first Advent Sunday. A holiday in some regions only.
Totensonntag	Mourning Sunday	Observed in November on the Sunday prior to the first Advent Sunday. The Protestant version of All Soul's Day.
Erster Advent	First Sunday of Advent	The four-week Advent period leading up to Christmas is an important part of the German celebration.

Format

mla apa chicago

Your Citation

Flippo, Hyde. "A Calendar of German Holidays and Customs - German-English." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/german-holidays-and-customs-4069407. Flippo, Hyde. (2023, April 5). A Calendar of German Holidays and Customs - German-English. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/german-holidays-and-customs-4069407 Flippo, Hyde. "A Calendar of German Holidays and Customs - German-English." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/german-holidays-and-customs-4069407 (accessed June 6, 2023).