Regional Holidays
The following holidays are only public holidays in the states mentioned.
This is celebrated in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Saxony-Anhalt. Epiphany is a feast day to celebrate the birth and baptism of Jesus Christ. On this day children dressed as the Three Kings, or the Three Wise Men, write the letters C + M + B above the doors of houses ("Hausweihe"). These signify "Christus mansionem benedicat" – "May Christ bless this house".
The Feast of Corpus Christi ("Fronleichnam") is a Catholic festival celebrated on the second Thursday after Whitsun. Corpus Christi means the Body of Christ and refers to the elements of the Eucharist. This is a public holiday in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North-Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony and Thuringia.
The Feast of the Assumption is to celebrate the Mother of Jesus, Mary, being taken into Heaven by God, in body and soul, and is only a holiday on 15th August in Bavaria and Saarland.
Christians of the Protestant faith celebrate Reformation Day on the 31st of October. It is a public holiday in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The holiday commemorates the Reformation of the Church by Martin Luther in the 16th century, which created the formation of a new religious group, the Protestant-Lutheran Church.
Saints, martyrs and the dead are honoured each year on 1st of November. The graves and cemeteries are decorated by relatives. Catholics light candles, the "Seelenlicht", which also glow on the following All Souls Day. These symbolise the "eternal light" that provides illumination for the dead. It is a public holiday in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North-Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland.
Penance Day is celebrated on the Wednesday before the last Sunday in the Church year. The first protestant Penance Day was celebrated in 1532 in Strasbourg as a reaction against the Ottoman wars. It is only a public holiday in the state of Saxony.
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