German Holidays

Germany has about ten important holidays. They include Easter, May Day, Mothers Day, Ascension Day, German Unification Day, All Saints Day, Christmas, St. Martin's Day, and New Years. Easter is celebrated with small traditions but are not quite the same as in the US. They have a bonfire ritual where they burn a straw mannequin of Judas. They also have a very low number of people that fast. May Day started out as a day for workers rights but then turned into a day for Germany. It was later turned back into a day for workers rights and is still sometimes celebrated with union strikes. Mothers Day is pretty much the same as the US. It was created to celebrate the social and political role of women. Ascension Day is a little different in Germany. Men of all ages put on their walking shoes and tour the pubs and restaurants in the area. German Unification Day is the only federally mandated public holiday. It has close ties to World War II and the Berlin Wall. All Saints Day is a holiday that is not celebrated all over Germany but only by the Catholic concentrated areas. Of course there is Christmas. They celebrate very similarly to the United States with presents and trees with ornaments on them. They also celebrate New Years. St. Martin's Day is like Thanksgiving because it is celebrated at the end of the harvest season. They have children process in with candles and lanterns on this holiday.
The Christmas holiday is similar to the one in the US. It still is linked with Jesus' birth and nativity scenes. They have Christmas trees that are decorated with ornaments. They also have advent wreaths that they lay out. They exchange gifts with family and friends. They also have Christmas markets which look very cool. Some traditions that may have come from Germany could be the Christmas trees and the ornaments associated with it.



Works Cited

https://www.study-in.de/en/life/culture-travel/--16984
http://www.msichicago.org/scrapbook/scrapbook_exhibits/catw2004/traditions/countries/germany.html