As of: March 28, 2024, 7:57 p.m
By: Sandra Sporer, Bettina Menzel
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A demonstration against the dance ban in Munich in 2023 (symbolic image). © IMAGO/Alexander Pohl / aal.photo
Only about half of all Germans are Christians. However, the strict Good Friday bans apply to everyone. There is particular criticism of the ban on dancing.
Munich – Otherwise, of course, prohibited on Good Friday: concerts, dancing or sporting events are not permitted on this religious holiday – depending on the federal state. Cinemas even have to be told which films they can show on Good Friday - even if the requirements have become more and more relaxed over the years. In times of massive church departures, not everyone agrees with the strict Good Friday rules; there are protests, especially against the ban on dancing.
Good Friday bans between tradition and zeitgeist: films “holiday-free”?
On Good Friday, Christians commemorate the suffering and death of Jesus Christ; it is one of the most important holidays in the church year. However, only about half of the people in Germany are Christians - and the trend is falling. Good Friday is one of the so-called “quiet days” in Germany. The consequence: A ban on concerts, dances and sporting events, regardless of religiosity. Even cinemas have to adhere to regulations that go back to the Weimar Republic, as the Voluntary Self-Regulation of the Film Industry (FSK) explained to the German Press Agency.
The rules come from a time when films were only shown in cinemas. Streaming services and television programs are therefore exempt from the regulation; they simply do not exist yet. However, the regulations for cinemas have been relaxed over time. While in the 1950s to 1990s more than half of the films were not classified as “holiday-free”, in 2024 there has not been a film without a holiday rating, as the FSK announced. Prominent examples of cinema film bans on Good Friday were the classics such as “The Life of Brian” and “The Knights of the Coconut” from 1980 and 1976.
Ban on dancing on Good Friday: This applies in the various federal states
According to the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, a so-called ban on dancing has existed in Bavaria at least since the “Ordinance on Dance Fun” of October 31, 1921; it was only explicitly enshrined in law after 1945. The Free State implements the rule particularly strictly: Firstly, there are the penalties for organizers At up to 10,000 euros, it is significantly higher than in other federal states. In Berlin, for comparison, the cost is a maximum of 1000 euros, usually significantly less. Secondly, the dance stop in Bavaria begins on Maundy Thursday and ends on Holy Saturday.
Baden-Württemberg |
Maundy Thursday to Holy Saturday |
|---|---|
Bavaria |
Maundy Thursday to Holy Saturday |
Berlin |
Good Friday 4 a.m. to 9 p.m |
Brandenburg |
Good Friday 00:00 a.m. to Holy Saturday 4:00 a.m |
Bremen |
Good Friday 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m |
Hamburg |
Good Friday 5 a.m. to midnight |
Hesse |
Maundy Thursday 4:00 a.m. to Holy Saturday 24:00 midnight |
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania |
Good Friday 00:00 a.m. to Holy Saturday 6:00 p.m |
Lower Saxony |
Maundy Thursday 5:00 a.m. to Holy Saturday 24:00 midnight |
North Rhine-Westphalia |
Maundy Thursday 6:00 p.m. to Holy Saturday 6:00 a.m |
Rhineland-Palatinate |
Maundy Thursday 4:00 a.m. to Easter Sunday 4:00 p.m |
Saarland |
Maundy Thursday 4:00 a.m. to Holy Saturday 24:00 midnight |
Saxony |
Good Friday 00:00 a.m. to midnight |
Saxony-Anhalt |
Good Friday 00:00 a.m. to midnight |
Schleswig-Holstein |
Good Friday 2:00 a.m. to Holy Saturday 2:00 a.m |
Thuringia |
Good Friday 00:00 a.m. to midnight |
Protest against the dance ban: Young people demand change
Many young people in particular believe that the ban on dancing is outdated. In Munich, Regensburg and Nuremberg, the Association for Freedom of Spirit (bfg) protested under the motto “Holy Shit - Let us dance!” with, of all things, dancing for a separation of church and state - and of course against the ban on dancing. This was made possible by a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court from 2016, which allows exceptions on Good Friday and other silent holidays “if festivals and celebrations are an expression of an ideological demarcation from Christian creeds”. Nevertheless, the Ansbach administrative court stopped the protest in Nuremberg because, in the court's opinion, no violation of freedom of assembly and freedom of religion could be credibly demonstrated.
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The chairwoman of the bfg Munich, Assunta Tammelleo, finds the dance ban “outrageous” and cites figures according to which only 24.7 percent of Munich residents belong to the Catholic Church and 9 percent to the Protestant Church. The Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, however, still considers the regulation to be contemporary: “Silent days offer everyone an important opportunity for inner contemplation, reflection and remembrance. The restrictions on the Silent Days are in line with the principle of proportionality and do not place an undue burden on organizers and citizens.”
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