Easter is one of the most popular holidays in Germany. After a long and cold summer, Easter marks the beginning of spring. If you are spending Easter in Germany, the one phrase you should memorise is ‘Frohe Ostern’ meaning ‘Happy Easter’. This is said to everyone around Easter time – from the cashier at the grocery store to your closest family members!
The Easter weekend begins on ‘Karfreitag’ (Good Friday). Most Germans will eat fish on Good Friday and this often marks the beginning of a whole weekend spent together with the family.
Easter Saturday is a great day for visiting an Easter market where you can browse stalls filled with handmade Easter decorations or stop by the local bakery to buy a lamb-shaped cake. In north Germany it is tradition to have an Osterfeuer (Easter fire) on Easter Saturday evening which helps chase away the dark spirits of winter and welcome the spring time.
Finally, Easter Sunday is the highlight of the weekend. In the morning, children will often complete an Easter-egg hunt, followed by attending a church service and a big family lunch which is traditionally made up of lamb, potatoes and vegetables.
Karneval is also known as the silly season in Germany. Although it officially begins on the 11th of November (on the 11th of the 11th at 11:11 o’clock), there is a winter break and the biggest days of Karneval this year are from the 8th to the 13th of February.
Tuesday marks the end of Karneval and is followed by Aschermittwoch (Ash Wednesday) which is the first day of lent.
Karneval is celebrated in many regions throughout Germany, but is sometimes also referred to as Fasching or Fastnacht. Some German Karneval traditions can be traced back to hundreds of years ago when people would dress up in bright colours and wear scary masks to scare away the devil or the evil spirits of winter.
Nowadays, Karneval celebrated with costumes, parades, eating and merriment! The festivities begin on Weiberfastnacht – the day of the women! On this day women rule! The party continues on Sooty Friday where the carnival proceedings are shown on most TV channels – the day features dances, sketches and speeches. On Saturday and Sunday there are smaller parades in the small cities or villages where groups dress up in matching costumes and walk in an organised parade throwing out candy and other goodies to the bystanders. These two days are also known as the calm before the storm that is Rosenmontag. On Rosenmontag the big cities, such as Mainz and Cologne host their parades which are attended by thousands of spectators. Shrove Tuesday is the last day of Karneval and people will often attend a ball where they take off their mask at midnight to reveal their true identities.
The 6th of January marks the day on which the three wise men went to Bethlehem to visit the Baby Jesus. Although no physical evidence of their existence is available, their legend is still told today:
The three wise men travelled to Bethlehem from the Orient to visit Jesus and bring him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They followed a bright star (the star of Bethlehem) which guided their ways; this suggests that the wise men may have been astrologists. The name Kaspar (Caspar) stands for ‘Hüter des Schatzes’ (guardian of the treasure) and he brought myrrh as a gift which stands for being human (just as Jesus had to suffer later on in his life as many humans do). Melchior stands for ‘König des Lichts’ (king of the light) and brought gold which is a valuable treasure, one which was thought to be adequate for the son of God. Finally, the name Balthasar stands for ‘Gott wird helfen’ (God will help) and he brought frankincense which is considered a symbol of God.
Since the 16th century, the so called ‘Sternensingen’ (star singers) visit house to house on the 6th of January and sing about the story of Christ. They are often dressed as the three wise men and write the three wise men’s initials on people’s houses in chalk to bless it (C, M and B also stand for the Latin phrase ‘Christus manionem benedicat’ which means ‘Christ bless this house’). In return for their efforts they are often rewarded with treats or with money which is donated to the charity ‘Kinder helfen Kinder’ (children helping children) which collects money for children around the world who are suffering from poverty.
Tomorrow, on the 11th of November, children in every city and town in Germany will wander through the dark streets with lanterns (which they often made themselves at school) and sing songs. These small parades are often led by a man in a roman uniform riding a horse. The parade usually ends somewhere with a bonfire and the children are given a treat.
St Martin’s Day is a celebration of a roman soldier – der Heilige Martin von Tours (the holy Martin from Tours). St. Martin lived from 316 to 397 BC and was later promoted to the third bishop of Tours. The most famous legend about St. Martin tells of a cold winter’s day when he was riding through the streets and saw a homeless man shivering. St. Martin took his coat and cut it in half, giving the homeless man one half and saving him from freezing to death. This is who we remember on this special day.