Vatertag or Father’s Day in Germany is always on Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt). It’s the 39th day after Easter Sunday and the 40th day of the Easter Season. It’s the day when Jesus went up or ascended to heaven. (Himmelfahrt means “heaven journey”) It always falls on a Thursday but the date varies because Easter falls on a different date each year too.
Christi Himmelfahrt is a public holiday, so everybody is off and stores are closed. Many people take the Friday between Ascension Day and the weekend off and go a short trips. A day off between a holiday and the weekend is called Brückentag (bridge day), and many people use a vacation day to have an extra long weekend.
What happens on Father's Day in Germany?
So, how is Father’s Day in Germany different from Father’s Day in the US, other than the date?
Many men (may they be fathers or not) get together for Vatertagstouren (Father’s Day trips). They might hike or ride their bikes, and often they have a Bollerwagen (also Handwagen or Leiterwagen) that they take with them. This little wagon is filled with supplies by which I mean alcohol and some food.
Other names for this day are Herrentag (gentlemen’s day) or Männertag (men’s day). These expressions you’ll find in the Eastern regions of Germany like Saxony and Thuringia.
Obviously, not all men or fathers go on these tours, there are plenty of fathers who spend Father’s Day with their family. Or do other fun activities that don’t involve alcohol and shenanigans.
There is also plenty of criticism about the way Father’s Day is celebrated. For one it overshadows the religious meaning of Ascension Day, and too many men who aren’t even fathers go out drinking leaving behind a mess.
How it started
Just like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day is an invention of the 20th century, imported from the US, and is therefore a rather young tradition. Though it was under the Nazi regime in 1936 that Vatertag was established as a holiday.
However, the traditions of hiking go back further, to the Middle Ages. It used to be custom for landowners to walk their land once a year to bless the land and harvest and to redraw the borders. These Flurprozessionen (plot processions) were always done on Ascension Day. The serfs didn’t have to work that day but could attend church services or partake in these processions which were religious in nature.
During the industrialization in the 19th century, Christian holidays slowly lost their meaning, or rather leisure time grew more important. Ascension Day was a day off work and that time was used by men to gather, take walks, drink, sing, and have a good time.
Breweries and pubs catered to these men outings, Herrentage (gentlemen’s days), by offering tours in horse-drawn carriages and of course beer.
But it wasn’t until the Nazis that the Herrentag on Ascension Day became Vatertag. They tried to replace any Christian holiday with “Germanic” or other secular traditions, and Father’s Day with its focus on family values fit the bill.
Father's Day in other countries
Unlike Mother’s Day, Father’s Day seems to be on different dates around the world. The US celebrates fathers on the third Sunday in June.
Austria’s Father’s Day is on the second Sunday in June and has been since 1955. Switzerland had its first Father’s Day in 2007 on the first Sunday in June. It’s not celebrated with drinking tours but rather activities for fathers and their children.
In Liechtenstein and Italy, Father’s Day is celebrated on St. Joseph’s Day on March 19th.
Luxembourg‘s Pappendag (Father’s Day) is on the first Sunday in October.
Sources and Resources
- National Geographic
- Wiki – Vatertag
- Lokalmatador
- SWR
- Wiki – Himmelfahrt
- Youtube Playlist
