Looking to celebrate some German holidays in 2024? Look no further! This year, there are a variety of celebrations to choose from, including Christmas, Easter, and Hannukah. Whether you're looking to experience a traditional holiday or explore a new one, we've got you covered.
It's important to note the dates of Germany's public holidays and significant dates whether you're residing in the country or just visiting. Since businesses and government agencies close or operate at reduced hours on specific dates, this is the case.
Our guide compiles a list of Germany's public holidays, as well as key dates for your calendar, to ensure you don't miss anything crucial.
Types of German Holidays
There are three categories of German Holidays, each describe below:
German Public Holidays
New Year's Day, German Unity Day, and Christmas Day are only a few of the nine public holidays observed throughout Germany's sixteen federal states.
German Regional Holidays
While the federal government has the authority to proclaim national holidays, individual states are in charge of determining public holidays. So, certain federal states celebrate days that are not recognized elsewhere. Bavaria, with 13 public holidays per year, is the state with the most public holidays. Between ten and twelve days per year are spent in federal states.
Other Holidays in Germany
There are various unofficial holidays, such as Saint Nicholas Day (Nikolaus) on December 5, Carnival Monday (Rosenmontag), and Christmas Eve, in addition to officially-recognized public holidays.
School Holidays in Germany
Easter, summer, and Christmas vacations, as well as breaks in the autumn and spring, are among the five to six vacation times that German schools enjoy each year. In Germany, the federal states have different school holidays.
Public Holidays in Germany Vary from State to State
Did you know that Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, and Saarland have the most public holidays per year, with twelve each? Germany does not observe public holidays on a national level; instead, each federal-state determines which German public holidays are official.
Since there are only ten German public holidays, this regulation leaves your holiday account in Hamburg and Bremen somewhat empty.
So, why do your foreign acquaintances in Berlin (state: Berlin) have eleven public holidays while you only have ten in Frankfurt am Main (state: Hessen)? This overview helps you understand the federal state of Germany's holidays, depending on your location:
- Bavaria (12)
- Saarland (12)
- Baden-Wuerttemberg (12)
- Saxony (11)
- Niedersachsen (11)
- Saxony-Anhalt: (11)
- Rhineland-Palatinate (11)
- North Rhine-Westphalia (11)
- Thuringia (11)
- Berlin (11)
- Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (10)
- Hesse (10)
- Schleswig-Holstein (10)
- Brandenburg (10)
- Bremen (10)
- Hamburg (10)
Here is the list of German Holidays in Germany for the Year 2022 & 2023
German Holidays (Urlaub)
2023 Dates 2024 Dates Federal State
New Years’ Day
(Neujahr)01-Jan - Sun 01-Jan - Mon All
Ephiphany
(Heilige Drei Könige)06-Jan - Fri 6-Jan - Sat Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria
Saxony-Anhalt
Women's Day
(Frauentag)06-Mar - Mon
8-Mar - FriBerlin
Good Friday
(Karfreitag)07-Apr - Fri 29-Mar - Fri All
Easter Sunday
(Ostersonntag)09-Apr - Sun 31-Mar - Sun Brandenburg
Easter Monday
(Ostermontag)10-Apr - Mon 1-Apr - Mon All
Labour Day
(Tag der Arbeit)01-May - Mon 01-May - Wed All
Ascension Day
(Christi Himmelfahrt)18-May - Thu 9-May - Thu All
Whitsunday
(Pfingstsonntag)28-May - Sun 19-May - Sun Brandenburg
Whitmonday
(Pfingstmontag)29-May - Mon 20-May - Mon All
Corpus Christi
(Fronleichnam)08-Jun - Thu 30-May - Thu Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria
Hesse
Saarland
Rhineland-Palatinate
North Rhine-Westphalia
Assumption Day 15-Aug - Tue 15-Aug - Thu Bavaria
Saarland
World Children's Day
(Weltkindertag)20-Sep - Wed 20-Sep - Fri Thuringia
German Unification Day
(Tag der Deutschen Einheit)03-Oct - Tue 03-Oct - Thu All
Reformation Day
(Reformationstag)31-Oct- Tue 31-Oct- Thu Brandenburg
Bremen
Hamburg
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
Lower Saxony
Saxony
Saxony-Anhalt
Schleswig-Holstein
Thuringia
All Saints’ Day
(Allerheiligen)01-Nov - Wed 01-Nov - Fri Baden-Württemberg
Bavaria
North Rhine-Westphalia
Rhineland-Palatinate
Saarland
Day of Repentance & Prayer
(Buß- und Bettag)22-Nov - Wed 22-Nov - Wed Saxony
Christmas Day
(Erster Weihnachtstag)25-Dec - Mon 25-Dec - Wed All
Boxing Day
(Zweiter Weihnachtstag)26-Dec - Tue 26-Dec - Thu All
What is the most Important Holiday in Germany?
It's tough to choose which German holiday is the most important. Religious festivals are highly important for Catholics, but Easter and Reformation Day are more significant for Protestants. Everywhere across Germany, the political and cultural significance of Unity Day is remembered. Yet, for almost everyone, the holidays in Germany are particularly memorable.
