What is the meaning of Pentecost as a holiday? When is Pentecost 2021? All information about the dates, customs and the Whitsun holidays can be found here.
Munich – Whitsun, these are the days off between Easter and summer holidays. But why are Pentecost holidays and public holidays? Is that important? What is Pentecost and why are we celebrating this event in Germany?
Here you will find the most important answers about the third most important Christian holiday in the church year and its date among the holidays in 2021 *.
When is Pentecost 2021?
- on May 13, 2021 is Ascension Day
- May 22, 2021 is Whit Saturday
- May 23, 2021 is Pentecost Sunday
- May 24, 2021 is Whit Monday
- on June 3, 2021 is Corpus Christi
Christmas is always celebrated on December 24th. Easter and Pentecost fall on a different date every year. Easter Sunday is celebrated exactly 46 days after Ash Wednesday, with Lent in between. Why 46 days? Lent only lasts 40 days? Very simple: Sundays are excluded from fasting, therefore a total of 46 days.
Pentecost is again celebrated depending on Easter Sunday: exactly 49 days later, i.e. on the 50th day of Easter . Hence the name ‘Pentecost’ , which comes from ancient Greek and means ‘fiftieth day’.
Whitsunday is always celebrated between May 10th and June 13th. The festival is rarely celebrated on May 12th. Until now, Pentecost fell on this date only twice, in 1799 and 1940. Whit Sunday and Whit Monday are public holidays in Germany and schoolchildren are also happy about their school holidays.
You can also read about the public holidays on which dancing is prohibited in Bavaria.
Why do Christians celebrate Pentecost?
Like Christmas or Easter, Pentecost is a so-called “solemn festival”. At Christmas the birthday of Jesus Christ is celebrated and at Easter the resurrection of Jesus. But what exactly is celebrated on Pentecost?
At Pentecost, Christians commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit – the festival also marks the end of Easter . Since the Holy Spirit bears the symbol of the dove in the Christian faith, this is also often associated with the festival of Pentecost.
Pentecost is also considered the “birthday” of the church and the Bible tells the story of the “Pentecost miracle”.
Also interesting: 40 days of fasting: this is what counts when fasting *
Ascension Day 2021: What is celebrated on this day?
Ascension Day means something like “The Ascension of the Lord” in Latin and falls on May 13th in 2021. Ascension Day is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Sunday *. Christians celebrate the return of Jesus Christ to His Heavenly Father. Ascension Day is a public holiday in all of Germany and always falls on a Thursday. The Friday after that is perfect for a break, like all other bridging days in 2021.
Corpus Christi 2021: what is celebrated on this day?
Corpus Christi falls on June 3, 2021. Christians celebrate services in the open air with magnificent processions – but because of the corona virus, everything is different this year. Like Ascension Day, Corpus Christi always falls on a Thursday , exactly on the second Thursday after Pentecost. Corpus Christi is translated as “Body of the Lord”. In contrast to Ascension Day, Corpus Christi is not a public holiday in all federal states.
Pentecost 2021: what is the Pentecost miracle?
Exactly 50 days after Easter, the followers of Jesus gathered in Jerusalem. When they prayed together, the Holy Spirit appeared to them in the form of a dove . Suddenly all the disciples could speak all languages and tell everyone about Jesus Christ.
In the book of Acts of Luke it says:
“And when the day of Pentecost came, they were all in one place. And suddenly there was a roar from heaven like a mighty wind and filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And tongues appeared to them, cut as if by fire; and he sat down on each of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to preach in other languages, as the Spirit gave them to speak. “(Source: German Bible Society)
Christian customs: How is Pentecost celebrated?
Whitsun coincides with the beginning of spring and summer: winter is finally over and nature is growing and flourishing, the most pleasant time of the year begins for people and animals. Whitsun is historically a kind of harvest festival or spring festival. Although the customs at Pentecost are not as pronounced as at Easter or Christmas, numerous and often quite curious customs have developed in Europe and Germany over the centuries. Here is an overview:
- In the south of Germany, Pentecostal fires are often lit in honor of the Holy Spirit.
- In the Middle Ages, so-called “Holy Spirit swinging” was widespread. Live pigeons were released in the church or a wooden pigeon was allowed to circle over the heads of the faithful.
- The Pentecost candle on the breakfast table is still widespread.
- In many parts of Europe equestrian processions take place at Pentecost. These Pentecost steps go back to equestrian games and military shows in ancient Rome and in the Middle Ages.
- Pentecost is a popular date for baptism, according to the faith the water should give a lot of blessings.
Pentecost 2021: When are holidays in the federal states?
The length of the Whitsun vacation varies from state to state – Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg have the longest free time. In Brandenburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, on the other hand, there are no Whitsun holidays at all. In numerous other federal states in Germany, people only have the holidays off.
| federal state | Whitsun holidays 2021 |
|---|---|
| Baden-Wuerttemberg | May 25th – June 5th |
| Bavaria | May 25th – June 4th |
| Berlin | May 14th |
| Brandenburg | – |
| Bremen | May 14th / May 25th |
| Hamburg | May 10th – May 14th |
| Hesse | – |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | May 14th / May 21st – May 25th |
| Lower Saxony | May 14th / May 25th |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 25. May |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | May 25th – June 2nd |
| Saarland | May 25th – May 28th |
| Saxony | May 14th |
| Saxony-Anhalt | May 10th – May 22nd |
| Schleswig-Holstein | May 14th / May 15th |
| Thuringia | May 14th |
Those: schulferien.org
Why aren’t there Whitsun holidays in all federal states?
Only Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria or Saxony-Anhalt have really pronounced Whitsun holidays. Many other federal states have only a few days or no Whitsun holidays at all (see above). Isn’t that unfair? Should students in these states consider moving?
Also read: In autumn the leaves fall from the trees and it gets colder. But when does this season actually start? In short, it depends on the definition.
No, of course not: In every federal state, students have exactly 75 free working days. Since the summer holidays in some federal states already start in June, it makes little sense to teach during this period. In Hesse, there would then be only three weeks between the Whitsun and summer holidays. Nevertheless, with a total of 14 public holidays, Bavarians have the most free time each year. Other federal states only have ten. World Children’s Day has been a public holiday in Thuringia since 2019.
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