Happy Father's Day!

Are you saying, "wait a minute? It isn't June yet. We just had Mother's Day." That's true - but in Germany, today May 17 is Father's Day. It coincides with the Roman Catholic religious holiday of Ascension, because in the Middle Ages, on that day there was a procession to honor God, the Father. Luckily, I listen to the radio every morning before I go to work; otherwise I would have missed the import of the day entirely, and would have been a very bad daughter-in-law for not wishing my father-in-law Happy Father's Day. A lthough, the day seems to be mostly associated with men going out drinking and not really celebrating Fathers.

In any event, today is an official holiday in Germany - not because of fathers, but because of the Son - to commemorate Christ's Ascension into Heaven, or Christi Himmelfahrt, in German. I'm beginning to get used to all of these holidays. The only problem is, unlike in the U.S., the holidays aren't necessarily conveniently placed on the second Monday in September or last Monday in May so you have a guaranteed long weekend. Like our Independence Day, certain holidays are on a specific date: Labor Day is always May 1, or the Epiphany is always January 6, whether it falls on a Tuesday or a Thursday, or even on a Sunday -- then you're SOL because you get no holiday.

But it's actually kind of nice to have a holiday during the week to break up the routine or stress. And when the holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, some people take the "bridge day" (Brückentag) off anyway to have a four-day weekend. (This time, I won't be one of them. Have to work. I know... you're all saying, "Awww, that's too bad")

Next up...Germany's version of Memorial Day (this year)....Pentecost.

Bis bald meine Lieben!