Karfreitag is the name for Good Friday – the Friday before Easter Sunday.

It is also known as Stiller Freitag or Hoher Freitag and is a day in remembrance of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

For Catholics it is a day of fasting and traditionally people eat fish on this day and avoid alcohol.

In Germany it is a public holiday.

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Palmsonntag (Palm Sunday) is the Sunday before Easter.

On this day the Church remembers Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, riding a donkey, where the bystanders waved palm leaves and hailed “Hosana”.

In addition the Catholic Church remembers Christ’s suffering – the so-called Passion, whereas the Protestant Church does this later on in the week on Good Friday.

On this day people go to Church and take palm leaves with them to be blessed.

Two other traditions on this day are:

• the Palmesel – the last person in the family to get up on this Sunday
• the Palmhase – like the Easter Bunny, except it brings one or two eggs on Palmsonntag and is a tradition in the Odenwald – part of Hessen.

To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:

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