A sneak peek to the German holidays in 2022. Plan your Brückentage (Bridge day)

It is always sparky when thinking about the holidays and planning the vacation. Unfortunately, 2021 was not so favorable in terms of holidays as most of them came to pass by the weekend.

Expatova
The Expat Chronicles
3 min readDec 8, 2021

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Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Most commonly, a German employee gets 30 paid leaves annually. If you fall under this category, you might be able to get some 50+ holidays this year if you plan ahead!

Jan 06 — Epiphany

For the people who work in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg and Saxony-Anhalt got a chance to have 17 days of holidays from December 24 2021 (Friday), to January 9 2022 (Sunday) if you spend 10 paid leaves.

Mar 08 — International Women’s day (only for Berliners)

The next public holiday comes after 61 long days in March! However, only for Berliners. In January 2019, Berlin’s parliament approved a bill to make International Women’s Day, observed annually on 8th March, a public holiday.

Apr 15 — Good Friday

For the rest of the people in Germany, it’s a 99 days long wait until April 14 for Good Friday. Since Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays, you get a long weekend. A clever marking of 4 days off before Good Friday or after Easter Monday would give you a relaxing 10 days off!

May 26 — Ascension Day

Since Labour Day (May 01) comes on a Sunday in 2022, the Ascension Day is on Thursday (like always). Take a day off on Friday and enjoy a long weekend!

One of the well liked options is to bridge between Ascension Day and Whit Monday (June 6). If you manage to take off for 6 days (from May 27 to Jun 3), you can avail 12 days of vacation with probably nice sunny days.

Jun 16 — Corpus Christi

People in western Germany (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland)get the Corpus Christi on a Thursday. Therefore, marking Out of Office on Jun 17 would give you a 4 days weekend.

Aug 08 — Peace Festival (Only for Augsburgers)

The Peace festival in Augsburg gives the people living there an opportunity to take the Friday before off or the Tuesday after off and get a 4 days long weekend.

Aug 15 — Assumption day (Only Bavaria and Saarland)

The Assumption of Mary is only celebrated in Bavaria and Saarland. Since it is a Monday, make a day off on the Friday before or the Tuesday after and get a 4 days weekend

As we head into July, August and September, there aren’t many bridge days to make use of, unless you’re lucky enough to live in one of the three states with regional holidays. Assumption of Mary, for example, is only celebrated in Catholic areas of Bavaria and Saarland.

Sep 20 — World Children’s Day (Only Thuringia)

Thuringia celebrates the World Children’s Day on September 20. Its a Tuesday. Therefore, an off on Monday gets you a long weekend to enjoy!

Oct 03 — German Unity Day

German Unity day is a national holiday and this time thankfully on a Monday. Choose between Friday before or Tuesday after and get a long weekend.

Oct 31 — Reformation Day (regional holiday)

This regional Public holiday on a Monday gives the people in Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Bremen gives the opportunity to get a long weekend!

Nov 1 — All Saints’ Day (regional holiday)

Public holiday in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. Mark the Monday off and there’s a chance to get a 4 day weekend.

Dec 26 — Boxing Day

It’s a Monday and therefore, a Friday before or a Tuesday after gives you a 4 day weekend.

For the most part, 2022 is neither a bad year nor a good year for holidays. The best part is, it isn’t as bad as 20212 either!

Anyway, depending on which state in Germany you live in, it’s possible to avail more than 50 holidays in 2022 if you combine your 26 annual vacation days with the public holidays cleverly!

#public holidays #german holidays #public holidays germany #german holidays 2022 #public holidays germany 2022 #germany holidays 2022

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Expatova
The Expat Chronicles

Expat info | Living in Germany | How to Germany. Relevant and up to date information for expats in Germany