German Public Holidays
Because I now have a German client, Germany's public holidays are of interest to me. Though there is but one federal public holiday, the state ones tend to add up as long as you do not get one at a weekend. Oddly to British and Irish eyes, there is no relocation of public holidays away from weekends, which means that some years come with less of them than others. Here then is a summary without any year to year variation in the dates.
| Details | Timing | Where Observed |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | 1st January | National |
| Epiphany | 6th January | BW, BY & ST |
| International Women's Day | 8th March | BE & MV |
| Good Friday | Varies with Christian liturgical calendar |
National |
| Easter Sunday | Varies with Christian liturgical calendar |
BB |
| Easter Monday | Varies with Christian liturgical calendar |
National |
| Labour Day | 1st May | National |
| Ascension Day | Varies with Christian liturgical calendar |
National |
| Whit Sunday | Varies with Christian liturgical calendar |
BB |
| Whit Monday | Varies with Christian liturgical calendar |
National |
| Corpus Christi | Varies with Christian liturgical calendar |
BW, BY, HE, NW, RP, SL, SN & TH |
| Assumption Day | 15th August | BY & SL |
| Children's Day | 20th September | TH |
| Day of German Unity | 3th October | National |
| Reformation Day | 31th October | National except BW, BY, BE, HE, NW, RP & SL |
| All Saints' Day | 1th November | BW, BY, NW, RP & SL |
| Repentance Day | 18th November | SN |
| Christmas Day | 25th December | National |
| 2nd Day of Christmas | 26th December | National |
To decode the above, you also need the state codes because not everywhere observes a particular public holiday. Thus, these are tabulated below:
| State Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | BW |
| Bavaria | BY |
| Berlin | BE |
| Brandenburg | BB |
| Bremen | HB |
| Hamburg | HH |
| Hesse | HE |
| Lower Saxony | NI |
| Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | MV |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | NW |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | RP |
| Saarland | SL |
| Saxony | SN |
| Saxony-Anhalt | ST |
| Schleswig-Holstein | SH |
| Thuringia | TH |
