Except for the national holiday, German Unity Day, public holidays in Germany (gesetzliche Feiertage) are determined by the federal states.
COMPARISON OF PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
|
|
|
New Year's Day |
Neujahrstag |
1 January |
(Epiphany) |
Heilige Drei Könige |
6 January |
Martin Luther King Jr. Day |
x |
3rd Monday in January |
Washington's Birthday
|
(Präsidententag) |
3rd Monday in February |
(Good Friday) |
Karfreitag |
Easter Sunday -2 days |
(Easter Monday) |
Ostermontag |
|
(Labor Day) |
Tag Der Arbeit |
1 May |
(Ascension Day) |
Christi Himmelfahrt |
Easter Sunday +39 days |
(Whit Monday) |
Pfingstmontag |
Easter Sunday +50 days |
Memorial Day |
|
Last Monday in May |
(Corpus Christi Day) |
Fronleichnam |
Easter Sunday +60 days |
Independence Day
|
(Unabhängigkeitstag) |
4 July |
(Assumption Day) |
Mariä Himmelfahrt** |
15 August |
Labor Day
|
(Tag der Arbeit) |
1st Monday in September |
(German Unity Day) |
Tag der Deutschen Einheit |
3 October |
Columbus Day |
x |
2nd Monday in October |
(All Saints Day) |
Allerheiligen |
1 November |
Veterans Day
|
(Veteranentag) |
11 November |
(Day of Repentence and Prayer) |
Buß und Bettag** |
Wed. before 23 November |
Thanksgiving Day |
(Erntendankfest) |
4th Thursday in November |
Christmas Day |
Weihnachtstag |
25 December |
(St. Stephens Day) |
Zweiter Weihnachtstag |
26 December |
|
|
|
10 |
12 (14)** |
Total |
** Only in the approx. 1700 communities with mostly Catholic inhabitants and in the cities of Augsburg and Munich, but all schools are closed.
German Unity Day has only been a national holiday since 1990, commemorating German reunification between East and West Germany on that date. Previously West Germany's national day, known as the "Day of German Unity", was on 17 June; commemorating the Workers' Uprising of 1953 in East Germany. East Germany's national day was 7 October, the founding of the state in 1949. |
