Fronleichnam is the name given to Corpus Christi - a date in the Catholic Church calendar that is celebrated 60 days after Easter.

It is only a public holiday in some parts of Germany.

The day generally starts with a Church service - often held in the open air. This is then followed by a procession through the town, often stopping at decorated altars en route.

Often the parish will hold their annual fête after the procession, giving an opportunity for families to spend the afternoon together and hopefully enjoy the fine weather.

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Pfingsten is the weekend known in English as Whitsun or Pentecost. The Sunday and Monday are bank holidays in the whole of Germany. It falls 50 days after Easter.

Pfingsten celebrates the moment when the Holy Ghost descended to Jesus’ disciples, allowing them to be understood by everyone that they talked to. To the listeners they appeared to be speaking in their native language.

The weekend is often used by families to have a longer weekend away. Some parts of Germany have school holidays that start on this weekend.

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Christi Himmelfahrt is known in English as Ascension Day. It is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Monday.

The name comes from the New Testament, where it is described how Jesus ascended to heaven having shown himself to his aspostles 40 days after the resurrection.

The day is a bank holiday in all of Germany as has been since 1936, although it was not celebrated in the GDR between 1967 and 1989.

The day is also known as Vatertag - Father’s Day and many clubs and organisations hold their annual parties, open days or outings on this day.

In 2008 Christi Himmelfahrt fell on the same day as Maifeiertag!

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Maifeiertag is the name given to the first (1st) day of May, known in English as May Day. It is also known in Germany as the Tag der Arbeit.

It is a public holiday, but unlike in some other countries it always falls on the 1st and is not moved to accommodate weekends.

The day was first celebrated in Germany during the time of the Weimar Republic in 1919, but it was not until 1933 that the bank holiday status was confirmed as being an annual event.

Traditionally Maibäume as erected for this day. Some of these are highly decorated, others resemble maypoles with coloured ribbons.

In the cities, however, the day is more political with demonstrations for workers’ rights.

Most people spend the day with their families.

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Heilige Drei Könige is celebrated on 6th January. In some areas of Germany it is a public holiday.

The day celebrates the arrive of the three wise men from the east in Bethlehem. In the Evangelical Church it is known as Epihanias - similar to the English name of the day in some countries “Epiphany”.

On this day, groups of children known as Sternsinger go from door to door and sing a song or recite a poem or prayer. They then write in chalk above the door C+B+M and the number of the year with three crosses, eg. 20*C+M+B+08. These letters stand for the latin phrase Christus mansionem benedicat, meaning “God protect this house”.

The Sternsinger also collect donations for childrens’ charities.

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The 25th and 26th of December are celebrated in Germany as 1. Weihnachtsfeiertag and 2. Weihnachtsfeiertag. These days are public holidays, a tradition that dates back to Martin Luther.

Unlike many English-speaking countries, presents are not exchanged on these days, as this happens on Heiligabend.

Instead, many families come together on these days and eat together. For example, couples with children will spend the 25th with one set of grandparents, and the 26th with their others.

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Buß- und Bettag is a day celebrated in the Evangelical Church. It is a day on which to change one’s direction and to turn to God as the Church year comes to an end and we move towards Advent.

It was previously a national holiday, but this was changed from 1995 onwards to finance the new Pflegeversicherung. It remains a holiday in Saxony.

Many families start their Christmas preparations on this day, for example they bake the first Christmas biscuits.

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Allerheiligen is celebrated on 1st November each year. It is a public holiday in a number of western Bundesländer, and has been celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church since the 9th Century.

The next day is Allerseelen (2nd November), and it is on these days that people visit and tend to the graves of their deceased relatives.

It is not a public holiday in Hessen and as such many people from the neighbouring Bundesländer come here to go shopping!

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The Reformationstag is celebrated on 31st October each year. It is the day on which in 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg, critising certain aspects of the Catholic Church and thus starting the Reformation in Germany.

It is a bank holiday mainly in the eastern part of the country.

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The Tag der Deutschen Einheit (”Day of German Unity”) is celebrated each year as a public holiday on 3rd October. In 1990 it replaced the previous holidays of 17th June in West Germany and 7th October in East Germany.

The main celebrations are held in the capital city of a different state each year.

The date was chosen arbitrarily and celebrates the day in 1990 when re-unification took place. Celebrating the day the Berlin Wall fell was felt inappropriate, as by co-incidence it is also the anniversary of the Reichspogromnacht in 1938.

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