German Holiday Paper free essay sample

In Germany they also celebrate holidays. Some are the same as American holidays but others are different. They seem to have a lot more holidays than we do. Some are celebrated the same in both places but some are different. In Germany some holidays are regional and not national which means that only people living in certain places celebrate them. In January there are multiple major holidays. On January first it is New Year’s Day. In German it is called Neujahr and is a national holiday. In many countries fireworks and gatherings are how people celebrate New Year’s Day. In the Christian gospel is reminiscent of the circumcision and naming of Jesus on the eighth day. January sixth is Helige Drei Konige, also called Epiphany. Christians commemorate on this day the three wise me, who came guided by a star to Bethlehem to the manger of Jesus to see him and give gifts. It is a national religious holiday. On January twenty-seventh Germany celebrates a national holiday called The Holocaust Remembrance Day. It commemorates the six million Jews and other victims of Nazism. Holocaust Remembrance Day was declared in October 2005. A regional holiday in Bayern is Orthodoxe Weihnachten, which is on January seventh. In February there is about five major national holidays. On February fourteenth it is Valetinstag also known as Valentine’s Day here in America. Valentines Day is considered the lover’s day in Germany. Couples give each other gifts on this day. Such as: flowers, and chocolates. in Germany it’s celebrated just like it is here in America. Weiberfastnacht is also in February. It is on February 16. Weiberfastnacht is the custom that women cut the ties with the scissors in German-speaking countries. So many men are stabbed accidentally by awkward behavior and uncoordinated women. Here in America we do not have a custom such as this. On February 20 it is Rosenmontag. The Rosenmontag is widely considered the highlight of the Carnival. It is a religious holiday. Aschermittwoch is like our Ash Wednesday. It is religious holiday celebrated all over the world. Ash Wednesday begins the 40 days of Lent for Christians. His name has to bless the Ash Wednesday because of the custom, ashes from palms of last years Palm Sunday and sign to the faithful from the ashes of a cross on the forehead. Lent is 40 days long and begins on Ash Wednesday for Christians and ends on Holy Saturday. You should remember the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert. The six Sundays in Lent are almost free. Most people give up something for lent to better them such as soda. Also during this time they don’t eat meat, only fish. The 40 days of lent are called Fastenzeit in German. Some of the regional holidays that Bayern celebrates are: Maria Lichtmess which is on February second, Der Heilige Blasius on February third, and Faschingsdienstag on February 21. March is not a very busy month for national holidays. There is only one major national holiday in March. The major National holiday in March is Internationaler Tag der Frau, it is on March eighth. The UN declared in 1975, March eighth is the United Nations Day for Womens Rights and International Peace. This holiday is not religious but it is more of a remembrance day then a holiday. We don’t have this holiday in the United States. March has two regional holidays in Bayern. One is Purim on the eighth and the other one is on the nineteenth which is Jossefi. April is a much busier month on the first day of April it is a national holiday just like it is here. In Germany they also celebrate April fool’s day on the first day of April. In Europe it is customary to make an April fool’s joke by playing jokes on one another. This is called sending someone into April. So be cautious and suspicious! On the fifth day of April it is Grundonnerstag. In Germany it is a day when Christian tradition on Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples took place. Schools, offices and authorities in Austria have closed on that day. On the sixth day of April it is Karfreitag. In America it is called Good Friday. Good Friday is the Friday before Easter. On Good Friday, Christians remember the crucifixion of Jesus. Schools, offices and authorities all over the world are closed. It is a religious holiday celebrated by Christians. Easter is also in April. In Germany it celebrated differently than in America. In Germany it is two days long but they celebrate the week before also. Easter is the highest holiday of the Christian churches. Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as it is narrated from the Bible. In many German-speaking countries looking for colored eggs, which were from the Easter Bunny are tradition just like here in America. In Germany they hide the eggs in trees instead of all over. The common name in the German Easter is old Germanic origin and is comfortable with the direction East together: The place where the sun rises is in Christianity as a symbol of the risen and returning Jesus Christ. The regional holidays in April are: Pessach (seventh) and Walpurgis (thirtieth). In German May is Mai. May is the Fifth month of the year. The first day of May is also a national holiday just like April. The first day of May is Tag der Arbeit in Germany. Labor Day on May first is a public holiday in many countries; most people will not work on. It is a legal holiday in parts of Switzerland and many other countries such as Germany, Austria, Italy, Russia, China, Greece, France, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, Mexico, Thailand, North Korea, Portugal and Brazil. The largest Swiss May first celebrations are celebrated in the city of Zurich. The Zurich May first Committee organized on May first in collaboration with the Federation of Trade Unions, the largest regularly held demonstrations in Switzerland and a big festival. The festival lasts for several days and is visited annually by tens of thousands. Unfortunately, it came in the past repeatedly to numerous riots especially in Zurich Long Street district, where several people were injured and dozens of demonstrators were arrested by the police. On May thirteenth it is Muttertag which is mother day here in the United States also. The Mothers Day is a day to honor mothers. In most countries it is on the 2nd Sunday in May. Pfingsten is on the twenty-seventh day of May. It is a Christian festival on the 50th Day after Easter. The party is the mission of the Holy Spirit, the Trinity and the official founding of the church. It continues to the following Monday. Bayern only has one non-national holiday in May which is Schawuot which is on May twenty-seventh. June and July has very few holidays. Herz-Jesu-Fest is a memorial Catholic Christians on the third Friday after Pentecost. In America we do not have a holiday like this. It is on June fifteenth this year. In July there are no major national holidays. June has three non-national holidays. They are: Der Prozessinstag(seventh), Feuriger Johannistag(twenty-fourth), and Siebenschlafetag(twenty-seventh). In July there are four non-national holidays, which are: Ulrichstag(fourth), Ramadan Beginn(twentieth), Jakobi(twenty-fifth), and Annafest(twenty-sixth). In August there is a Catholic National holiday. It is on August fifteenth and called Maria Himmelfahrt. This day is a feast of the Catholic Church. It celebrates the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven. Augsburger Friedenfest on the eighth and Ramadan Ende are the only non-national holidays in August. There are no Major national holidays in September. In October they have their form of thanksgiving. It is on October 7 this year. Erntedank is the name of their version. Erntedank is when German-speaking Christians celebrate the harvest festival to give thanks to God for the harvest. Halloween is also on October 31 in Germany. One of the major differences is they don’t dress up on costumes when they go door to door. Other than that it is celebrated very similar to how we celebrate it. On September seventeenth there is a non-national holiday called Rosch ha-Schana. There are no non-national holidays in October. On November 11 Germany has a major national holiday called St. Martin. It is a religious holiday. On this day Christians commemorate a bishop from the 4th Century, the Roman officer and has been divided for a beggars mantle. November doesn’t have any non-national holidays. December is another very busy month in America and in Germany. Most of the major national holidays in December are religious. The first major holiday is on December sixth. It is Nikolaustag which in America is St. Nicholas day. It is celebrated a lot more in Germany than it is in America. The tradition come from a guy who lived in Turkey in the 4th Century, a bishop named Nicholas. He helped the poor and was particularly popular with the children. They celebrate in memory of him St. Nicholas Day Christians. In Germany the put presents such as candy in their shoes that day. Most people in America don’t celebrate this day. The next major holiday is Adventszeit on December 23. Adventszeit is the time for Christians to prepare for Christmas. We don’t celebrate this here in America. The next major day is December 24. It is Christmas Eve in Germany it is called Heilig Abend. Is the eve of Christmas and on the last day of Advent. Christians celebrate this evening (from 22:00 clock), the Christmas mass. It has become popular in Europe in time to hold the night before Christmas with a family type presents and feasts. The festival is mainly celebrated within immediate family. Tradition in many families is a visit to a church service, either in the late afternoon (Christmas Vespers, Nativity Play) or night (Christmas Eve), the usual ritual, including non-churchgoers. The church services on Christmas Eve are therefore in all Christian denominations, the most visited throughout the year. It is almost the same as we celebrate here in America. Christmas is the following day just like here. December 25 is Christmas and they also are celebrating Christ. In Germany Christmas is called Weihnachten. The last major holiday of the year is Silvester or what we call New Year’s Eve. This is the last day of the year. In the German speaking area, they celebrate the year with celebrations, fireworks, lead casting, and often end with alcohol. Bayern doesn’t have any regional holidays in December. Overall Germany and America celebrate things very similar. Except Germany is a lot more religious and celebrate more holidays. In Germany they have regional holidays and America really doesn’t. Almost all of our holidays are national holidays. The traditions of each country reflect each other a lot. We got some of our traditions from Germany but not all.