Is Ascension Day 2020 a public holiday? Meaning and customs at a glance

Is Ascension Day 2020 a public holiday? Here you will learn everything about the meaning and customs of this church holiday.

• Ascension Day falls on May 21, 2020.
• Father's Day always falls on Ascension Day.
• Is Ascension Day a holiday in all states?

Munich - Holidays offer working people a break, especially if they are cleverly located at the beginning or end of the week. Then, with the use of a few vacation days, a short vacation is possible. This also applies to Ascension Day, even if the short vacation due to the Corona crisis * is more likely to take place on “balconies”.

Public holiday: what date is Ascension Day 2020?

In 2020 Ascension Day falls on Thursday, May 21 . This makes the holiday a perfect opportunity for a long weekend if you can take Friday as a bridge day off. However, this is not a peculiarity of the year 2020: Since Ascension Day always takes place 39 days after Easter Sunday , this holiday always falls on a Thursday . The exact date of Ascension Day , like most moving holidays, depends on the date of Easter . Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon in spring. This would allow dates between April 30 and June 3 for Ascension Day. In 2020, Ascension Day on May 21 is relatively late.

Holidays 2020: what is the significance of Ascension Day?

On Ascension Day , Christians celebrate the return of Jesus Christ to His Father in Heaven. The holiday dates back to the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of Luke. It describes how the risen Christ first appeared to the disciples for forty days and talked about the kingdom of God. On Ascension Day, he is said to have been lifted up before the eyes of the disciples, picked up by a cloud and taken away from their eyes. He is said to have been “raised to the right of God”.

In modern Christian theology, this description is now mostly understood figuratively. The Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau wrote on its website: “The story of the Ascension is a symbolic story. It is an image for something that cannot be expressed otherwise than in the image. The story of the Ascension of Christ portrays the way to God. Not just that for Jesus, but the way for all people. The narrative uses many symbols to describe this path. "

In which states is Ascension Day a public holiday?

Ascension Day is a so-called national holiday  and is therefore a public holiday in all German states . In addition, many other people in Europe are free on Ascension Day, for example the people in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Sweden and Switzerland.

Holidays: Where are the shops closed on Ascension Day?

Since Ascension Day is a public holiday in Germany, the shops are closed on this day. Authorities are also not open on public holidays. In addition, a truck driving ban applies from 00:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Public holiday: In which federal states is school-free on Ascension Day?

Schoolchildren can also stay at home on Ascension Day. In some federal states, school-age children are also free on the following bridge day Friday, May 22, 2020. This is the case in Bremen, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Thuringia, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. Berlin is also  free of school on Ascension Day 2020 and the following bridge day .

Services and customs on Ascension Day: This is how churches celebrate the holiday

In the past, it was customary in Catholic churches to depict the biblical stories of Ascension in a particularly vivid way. For this purpose, a valet pulled a Christ statue attached to cords to the ceiling, sometimes even through a hatch, on the holiday. In some cases, a figure that was supposed to represent the devil was plunged down and beaten by the community. In addition, frankincense was often used extensively on Ascension Day - the rising smoke is supposed to symbolize the Ascension Day. Already in the week before Ascension Day , the so-called petition days were custom, in which the farmers asked God for a fruitful harvest and protection against storms. In addition, poultry was formerly eaten in some regions on the holiday as “soaring meat” or baked pastries in the shape of a bird. The reports, among other things, celebrate-online.de.

In many places it is still common today to celebrate the Ascension with processions and rides through forests and meadows. Accordingly, the service on this holiday often takes place in the open air. Known for example is the Gymnicher Ritt, a horseback procession on the Ascension Day with 200 riders from Gymnich and the surrounding area every year. In addition, about 600 foot pilgrims take part each year. The blood ride in Weingarten in Baden-Württemberg also takes place annually on Ascension in honor of the Holy Blood Relic. With around 3000 pilgrims, it is the largest equestrian procession in Europe.

Whether these processions are actually due to Ascension is controversial. In some places, one also assumes a Germanic origin of the custom: Accordingly, every owner has to walk around his property once a year in order to maintain claims.

Follow Ascension Day 2020 on TV and live stream

Those who cannot or do not personally want to attend the service can also watch Ascension Day at home on TV and live stream. For example, on Thursday, May 21, 2020, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., ARD will broadcast a Catholic service for the Ascension of Christ from the monastery basilica in Waldsassen in Bavaria. 

The first also has a live stream that anyone interested can follow. There is also a corresponding app that could be worthwhile for smartphones and tablets. Interested parties with an Apple device can download the ARD app from the App Store, Android customers can download it from the Google Play Store.

What does Ascension Day have to do with Father's Day?

It is no coincidence that many Germans now associate Ascension Day with Father's Day. Father's Day, sometimes also called “Men's Day” or “Men's Day”, has probably developed from the traditional processions on Ascension Day. Even today, men are often drawn outside on Father's Day - but mostly equipped with a handcart and lots of alcohol. In other countries, on the other hand, Father’s Day is celebrated very differently. By the way, we have put together the best congratulations for you in the form of WhatsApp sayings for Father's Day.

Ecclesiastical representatives criticize these new developments: "Think about whether fatherhood can make sense in getting drunk," said Matthias Kreplin of the Evangelical Church in Baden , according to the German Press Agency in 2016. However, some congregations still manage to To combine Father's Day and Ascension Day well. Merkur.de * reports on how this works in practice. Merkur.de has also put together various types of fathers to suit Father's Day.

You also want to know what Christians celebrate at Easter and which customs are common? We give you the answer here.

We will also explain what is behind one of the latest public holidays in Germany. Since 2019, World Children's Day has been a non-religious holiday in Thuringia.

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

Rubric list picture: © picture alliance / dpa