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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About Us
    • Current IGHS Board >
      • Committee Responsibilities
    • Our Past and Present
    • By-Laws
    • Strategic Planning
    • IGHS Orientation
    • Partnerships
    • Board Members Login
  • MEMBERSHIP
    • Membership
    • Join and Belong
    • Renew
  • OUTREACH
    • 2025 Annual Meeting
    • Cultural Enhancement Fund
    • Stammtisch and Program
    • Hoosier German-American of the Year
    • Scholarships
    • German School
    • Essay Contest
    • Carmel Christkindlmarkt
    • Sankt Nikolaus
    • The Friends of Wyneken
  • LIBRARY
    • Recorded Presentations
    • Publications
    • Newsletters
    • GERMAN AMERICANA >
      • German Customs, Traditions and Origins of Holidays
      • German Americana Quiz
    • Genealogy
    • Anthology
    • German Recipes
    • Indiana German History
  • DONATE
    • Donate
    • Estate Planning
  • CONTACT
    • Contact Us

GERMAN AND GERMAN-AMERICAN
CUSTOMS, TRADITIONS, ORIGINS OF HOLIDAYS

Introductions and Foundational Information
  • Use of this site will be enhanced by taking a few moments to read through the following materials:
  • Important essay: More than Folklore: Customs & Traditions / Mehr als Folklore: Das Brauchtum.
  • Brauchen wir Bräuche? Hat Tradition Zukunft?
  • The Year of the Sun: Nature and Germanic Culture. setup of the solar year, seasons, celebrations, Gregorian calendar.
Further Resources
  • German only. Calculator for fixed and movable holidays.
  • German.about.com's Calendar and holiday customs
  • EXCELLENT! Religiöses Brauchtum - 4 seasons, numerous feasts, customs, literature
  • Catholic Encyclopedia - a wealth of info
  • Holidays, Calenders, Seasons, etc. Our links to further resources
  • Rites of Passage: baptism, marriage, funerals and other solemn occasions.
Calendar Key
  • Cross Quarter Days are in red, Equinoxes are in blue. Solstices are solar celebrations, Equinoxes are lunar celebrations
  • Seasonal Holidays and Traditions vs. the Calendar and Seasons - some holidays precede or anticipate the season
  • See Year of the Sun Calendar for further explanation
AUTUMN TRADITIONS AND HOLIDAYS
Cross Quarter Day
August 1
First Harvest is the cross quarter day between Midsummer Solstice & Autumnal Equinox
Mid-Sept to Mid-Oct
German-American Heritage Month​
Mid-September
Steuben Parades are held in New York and Chicago.
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
Jewish New Year
Jewish Day of Atonement
Autumn
AUTUMNAL EQUINOX
September 22
Harvest Home, day roughly equals night (equi-nox). Around the Autumnal Equinox Oktoberfests and Germanfests are held.
End of September
Oktoberfests in Germany and North America.
September 26
1st Austrian American Day in 1997. Presidential Praise.
September 29
St. Michaelistag/Michaelmas
1st Sunday in October
Erntedankfest / Thanksgiving in Germany
October 1 
First Germans at Jamestown, Va in 1608.​
October 2
German Canadian Day
October 3
Tag der deutschen Einheit - Day of German Unity
October 6
German-American Day
October 31
Reformationstag - Reformation Day
Cross Quarter Day
October 31
Halloween, the last day of Fall, separates Autumnal Equinox from Midwinter Solstice. One of the year's most significant pagan fests.
Winter Traditions and Holidays
November 1
All Saints' Day - All Hallows/Allerheiligen (official holiday)
November 2
All Souls' Day - Allerseelen
November 9
Fall of the Wall and Kristallnacht remembered
November 11
St. Martin's Day; kicks-off Karneval in some areas.
3rd Sunday in November
Volkstrauertag - Memorial Day.
Wednesday before Totensonntag
Buss- und Bettag - Day of Repentance and Prayer (official holiday)
November 25
Heilige Katharina
Last Sunday before Advent
Totensonntag - Sunday of the Dead. Protestant.
4th Thursday  in November
American Thanksgiving compared to German Erntedankfest.
1st Sunday after
​November 26
​Advent begins, ends on Xmas eve; Christmas Markets open.
November 30
St. Andreas/St. Andrew
December 4
St. Barbara
December 5 and 6
St. Nikolaus/St. Nicholas: historical, Santa, holiday.
December 8
Mariä Empfängnis and Weihnachtskrippen
December 13
St. Lucia: Festival of Lights. Italian & Swedish traditions, songs.
Hanukkah
The story, celebration, recipes, rituals, games, resources, Yiddish.
Winter
MIDWINTER SOLSTICE
December 21
The point at which the sun reaches its greatest declination, north; the beginning of the solar new year, celebrated with bonfires.
December 21
St. Thomas: the doubting Thomas
Christmas
Background, religion, customs, teaching, countless links!
December 24
Tree is put up. Midnight "Christ Mass". 1st day of Xmas.
December 25/26
Christmas / Weihnachten (official holidays in Germany).
December 26
Boxing Day in England
December 31
Silvester/New Year's Eve
January 1
Neujahr/New Year's Day. Poems.
January 6
Three Kings and Epiphany - ends the 12 days of Xmas.
Cross Quarter Day
February 1
Groundhog/Candlemas Day is the quarter point between the Midwinter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox.
Spring Traditions and Holidays
February 2
Groundhog and Candlemas Day (Maria Lichtmess)
February 14
St. Valentin/Valentine's Day
February 28
Karneval - Fastnacht - Fasching. Preparations began on 11.11 - Martinstag.
Thursday
Weiberfasnacht / Old Wives Carnival: women have "Narrenfreiheit"
Sunday
Faschingssonntag / Greasy Sunday
Monday
​Rosenmontag. Famous Parade televised from Cologne
Tuesday
Faschingsdienstag: all parties stop when clock strikes Midnight Shrove Tues/Mardi Gras
LENT (movable)
Ash Wednesday / Aschermittwoch.
 
Purim: Jewish celebration of religious freedom.
March 17
St. Patrick's Day: Irish-German connection?
March 25
The Annunciation / Maria Verkündigung (9 mos. to Xmas) Lätare
​(3rd Sun. pre Easter)
 
​Palmsonntag / Palm Sunday begins Holy Week. Last Sunday before Easter.
SPRING (movable)
Gründonnerstag - Maundy Thursday
 
Karfreitag / Good Friday
 
Easter / Ostern: background, customs, celebration.
 
Pesach / Passover
Spring
Vernal Equinox March 20
Vernal Equinox. Rebirth of Nature, night & day each appx.12 hours.
April 1
April, April / April Fool's Day
April 6
Scottisch-American Day
Cross Quarter Day April 30
May Eve/Walpurgisnacht, the last day of Spring, cross quarter day separating Vernal Equinox from Midsummer Solstice.
Summer Traditions and Holidays
May 1
May Day / Maifeier / Tag der Arbeit.
 
Christi Himmelfahrt Ascension: 40 days after Easter. Father's Day
Shavuos/Pentecost
Jewish festival 50 days after Passover.
May 11-15
Die Eisheiligen
 
Pfingsten / Pentecost - Whitsunday
 
Trinitas, Fronleichnam, Corpus Christi: 50 days after Easter
Summer
Midsummer Solstice June 20
Midsummer Solstice is the point at which the sun reaches its greatest declination south. Sonnwend/Midsummer Night
June 24
Johannistag - Summer Solstice - Midsummer Night.
July 1
Canada Day
July 4
US Independence Day plus the Declaration in German.
August 1
Founding of the Confederatio Helvetia in 1291.
August 15
Maria Himmelfahrt - Assumption of our Lady

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