Pentecost 2020: What is the meaning of the holiday and who is free?

What is the meaning of Pentecost as a holiday? When is Pentecost 2020? All information about the dates, customs and Pentecost holidays can be found here.

Munich - Pentecost, these are the days off between Easter and summer holidays. But why are there holidays and public holidays at Pentecost? Is that important? What is Pentecost and why are we celebrating this event in Germany?

Here you will find the most important answers to the third most important Christian holiday in the church year.

When is Pentecost 2020?

• May 21, 2020 is Ascension Day
• May 30, 2020 is Pentecost Saturday
• May 31, 2020 is Pentecost Sunday
• Whit Monday is June 1st, 2020
• on June 11, 2020 is Corpus Christi

Christmas is always celebrated on December 24th. Easter and Pentecost have a different date each year. Easter Sunday is celebrated exactly 46 days after Ash Wednesday, with Lent in between. Why 46 days, Lent only lasts 40 days? Quite simply: Sundays are excluded from fasting, so a total of 46 days. 

Pentecost is again celebrated depending on Easter Sunday: Exactly 49 days after, i.e. on the 50th day of Easter . Hence the name 'Pentecost' , which comes from ancient Greek and means 'fiftieth day'. 

Pentecost Sunday is always celebrated between May 10 and June 13. The festival is least often celebrated on May 12th. So far, Pentecost has only occurred twice on this date, in 1799 and 1940. Whit Sunday and Whit Monday are public holidays in Germany and schoolchildren are also happy about their school holidays. 

Read also on which public holidays there is a ban on dancing in Bavaria.

Why do Christians celebrate Pentecost?

Pentecost, like Christmas or Easter, is a so-called "high festival". The birthday of Jesus Christ is celebrated on Christmas and the resurrection of Jesus on Easter. But what exactly is celebrated at 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 often associated with the Pentecost.

Pentecost is also the "birthday" of the church and the Bible tells the story of the "Pentecost miracle".

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Ascension Day 2020: what will be celebrated on this day?

Ascension in Latin means something like "The Ascension of the Lord" and falls on May 21, 2020. Ascension Day is celebrated on the 40th day after Easter Sunday *. Christians celebrate the return of Jesus Christ to his Father in heaven. Ascension Day is a public holiday throughout Germany and always falls on a Thursday. The Friday after that is perfect for a break, like all other bridge days in 2020.

Corpus Christi 2020: what will be celebrated on this day?

Corpus Christi falls on June 11, 2020. Christians celebrate religious 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 holiday in all states.

Pentecost 2020: what is the Pentecost miracle?

Exactly 50 days after Easter, Jesus' followers 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.

Luke's Acts says:

“And when Pentecost came, they were all in one place. And suddenly there was a roar from the sky 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 on each one of them, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to preach in other languages, as the Spirit gave them to say. ”(Source: German Bible Society)

Christian customs: How is Pentecost celebrated?

Pentecost coincides with spring and the beginning of summer: winter is finally over and nature is growing and flourishing, the most pleasant time of the year begins for humans and animals. Historically, Pentecost is a kind of Thanksgiving or Spring Festival. Although the customs at Pentecost are not as pronounced as at Easter or Christmas, numerous and often quite curious customs in Europe and Germany have developed over the centuries. Here is an overview: 

• In southern Germany, Pentecost fires are often lit in honor of the Holy Spirit.
• In the Middle Ages, the so-called "Holy Spirit swinging" was widespread. Live pigeons were released in the church or a wooden pigeon was circled over the heads of the faithful.
• The Pentecostal candle on the breakfast table is still common.
• Equestrian processions take place at Pentecost in many parts of Europe. These Pentecost kicks go back to riding games and army shows in ancient Rome and in the Middle Ages.
• Pentecost is a popular date for baptism, the water is believed to give a particularly great blessing.
  

Pentecost 2020: when are holidays in the federal states?

The length of the Pentecost holidays varies from state to state - in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg the free time is the longest. In contrast, there are no Pentecost holidays in Brandenburg, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. In numerous other federal states in Germany, people are only free on the public holidays mentioned.

Source: schulferien.org

Why isn't there Pentecost vacation in all federal states?

Only Pentecost holidays, Baden-Würtemberg, Bavaria and Saxony-Anhalt have really pronounced Pentecost holidays. All other federal states have only a few days to no Pentecost holidays (see above). Isn't that unfair? Should the students of these federal states consider moving?

No, of course not: in every federal state, pupils 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 only be three weeks between the Pentecost and summer holidays. Nevertheless, with a total of 15 public holidays, Bavaria has the most free time in the year. Other federal states are catching up. World Children's Day has been a public holiday in Thuringia since 2019.

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* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.