Holidays & Celebrations
Living in Germany? Here’s a list of all the German public holidays you need to know in 2022 and 2023, as well as other important dates to make a note of on your calendar.
By Expatica
Updated 3-1-2024
Whether you’re living in Germany or just visiting, it’s important to note the dates of Germany’s public holidays and important dates. This is because on some of these dates, businesses and public institutions will close or have reduced hours.
To ensure you don’t miss out on anything important, our guide puts together a list of Germany’s public holidays as well as important dates for your calendar.
- An overview of German public holidays
- German public holidays during 2022
- German regional holidays 2022
- Important dates in Germany during 2022
- German public holidays during 2023
- German regional holidays 2023
- Important dates in Germany during 2023
- German school holidays
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An overview of German public holidays
There are nine official nationalpublic holidays in Germanyeach year, alongside regional holidays particular to certain German states. This means that some German states have more German holidays than others; in fact, lucky locals can enjoy up to 13 days of German public holidays a year, one of the highest public holiday entitlements in Europe.
Many of the German bank holidays are religious and date back centuries. A more recent holiday in Germany is the Day of German Unity on 3 October, which commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990. You can see whichnational holidays in Germanycoincide withGermany’s top festivals, which are a great way to experience German culture and sample regionalGerman food, particularly during the colorfulcarnival period.
Besides German Unity Day,holidays in Germanyare determined by the federal states. However, if a German holiday falls on a weekend, the holiday doesn’t typically transfer to a weekday. Many businesses – but not police stations or hospitals – close during national holidays in German and regional public holidays.
German public holidays during 2022
These holidays are celebrated nationally in Germany.
- 1 January (Saturday): New Year’s Day (Neujahrstag)
- 15 April (Friday): Good Friday (Karfreitag)
- 18 April (Monday): Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
- 1 May (Sunday): Labor Day (Maifeiertag)
- 26 May (Thursday): Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt, 40 days after Easter)
- 6 June (Monday): Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag) – seventh Monday after Easter, also called Pentecost Monday
- 3 October (Monday): Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutschen Einheit)
- 31 October (Monday): Reformation Day (Reformationstag) – generally a regional holiday in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and parts of Thuringia.
- 25 December (Sunday): Christmas Day (Weihnachtstag)
- 26 December (Monday): Saint Stephen’s Day (Stephanstag) – also known as the second day of Christmas
- 31 December (Saturday): New Year’s Eve
German regional holidays 2022
These holidays are only celebrated in certain German regions.
- 6 January (Thursday): Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige) – Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and Saxony-Anhalt
- 16 June (Thursday): Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam) – Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, and some local authorities in Saxony and Thuringia
- 8 August (Monday): Peace Festival (Freidenfest) – Bavaria (Augsburg)
- 15 August (Monday): Assumption Day (Maria Himmelfahrt) – Saarland and some local authorities in Bavaria
- 1 November (Tuesday): All Saints’ Day (Allerheiligen) – Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland
- 16 November (Wednesday): Day of Prayer and Repentance (Buß-und Bettag, Wednesday before 23 November) – Saxony
Important dates in Germany during 2022
- 28 February (Monday): Shrove Monday
- 1 March (Tuesday): Shrove Tuesday, also known as Carnival
- 2 March (Wednesday): Ash Wednesday, also known as Carnival
- 27 March (Sunday): Clocks go forward one hour as a result of daylight saving time starting
- 8 May (Sunday): Mother’s Day (second Sunday of May)
- 26 May (Thursday): Father’s Day (Vatertag, also known as Männertag/Herrentag, Men’s Day) – coincides with Ascension Day and can be a family celebration or celebrated by an outing with male friends
- 10 September (Saturday): German Language Day
- 11 September (Sunday): European Heritage Days – when monument buildings are opened to the public
- 17 September (Saturday): Oktoberfest starts
- 20 September (Tuesday): German World Children’s Day
- 30 October (Sunday): Clocks go back one hour as a result of daylight saving time ending
- 9 November (Wednesday): Fall of the Berlin Wall
- 11 November (Friday): St Martin’s Day – a religious observance where children take part in lantern processions
- 13 November (Sunday): National Day of Mourning – victims of war are remembered and in some regions, music or dance events are illegal
- 6 December (Tuesday): Saint Nicholas Day
German public holidays during 2023
These holidays are celebrated nationally in Germany.
- 1 January (Sunday): New Year’s Day (Neujahrstag)
- 7 April (Friday): Good Friday (Karfreitag)
- 10 April (Monday): Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
- 1 May (Monday): Labor Day (Maifeiertag)
- 18 May (Thursday): Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt, 40 days after Easter)
- 29 May (Monday): Whit Monday (Pfingstmontag) – seventh Monday after Easter, also called Pentecost Monday
- 3 October (Tuesday): Day of German Unity (Tag der Deutschen Einheit)
- 25 December (Monday): Christmas Day (Weihnachtstag)
- 26 December (Tuesday): Saint Stephen’s Day (Stephanstag) – also known as the second day of Christmas
German regional holidays 2023
These holidays are only celebrated in certain German regions.
- 6 January (Friday): Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige) – Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, and Saxony-Anhalt
- 8 March (Wednesday): International Women’s Day – Berlin
- 9 April (Sunday): Easter Sunday – Brandenburg
- 28 May (Monday): Whit Sunday – Brandenburg
- 8 June (Thursday): Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam) – Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, and some local authorities in Saxony and Thuringia
- 8 August (Tuesday): Peace Festival (Freidenfest) – Bavaria (Augsburg)
- 15 August (Tuesday): Assumption Day (Maria Himmelfahrt) – Saarland and some local authorities in Bavaria
- 31 October (Tuesday): Reformation Day (Reformationstag) – generally a regional holiday in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and parts of Thuringia.
- 1 November (Tuesday): All Saints’ Day (Allerheiligen) – Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland
- 22 November (Wednesday): Day of Prayer and Repentance (Buß-und Bettag, Wednesday before 23 November) – Saxony
Important dates in Germany during 2023
- 20 February (Monday): Shrove Monday
- 21 February (Tuesday): Shrove Tuesday, also known as Carnival
- 22 February (Wednesday): Ash Wednesday, also known as Carnival
- 26 March (Sunday): Clocks go forward one hour as a result of daylight saving time starting
- 14 May (Sunday): Mother’s Day (second Sunday of May)
- 18 May (Thursday): Father’s Day (Vatertag, also known as Männertag/Herrentag, Men’s Day) – coincides with Ascension Day and can be a family celebration or celebrated by an outing with male friends
- 9 September (Saturday): German Language Day
- 10 September (Sunday): European Heritage Days – when monument buildings are opened to the public
- 16 September (Saturday): Oktoberfest starts
- 20 September (Wednesday): German World Children’s Day
- 29 October (Sunday): Clocks go back one hour as a result of daylight saving time ending
- 9 November (Thursday): Fall of the Berlin Wall
- 11 November (Saturday): St Martin’s Day – a religious observance where children take part in lantern processions
- 19 November (Sunday): National Day of Mourning – victims of war are remembered and in some regions, music or dance events are illegal
- 6 December (Wednesday): Saint Nicholas Day
German school holidays
See our guide to school holidays in Germany.
