German Unity Day - October 3rd is a public holiday

German Unity Day (in German: Tag der Deutschen Einheit) is a national holiday that commemorates the anniversary of German reunification in 1990. The holiday is celebrated annually on October 3rd.

An alternative choice would have been the day the Berlin Wall came down, namely November 9, 1989. However November 9 is also the anniversary of the first large-scale Nazi-led pogroms against Jews in 1938, so called Kristallnacht, thus the day was considered inappropriate as a national holiday.

If the holiday falls on a weekday, as it does in 2006, then all workers get the day off. All shops will be closed and services, such as public transport, mostly follow their Sunday schedule. The Oktoberfest usually finishes on the first Sunday in October. This year, however, it has been extended to the following Tuesday to include Unity Day.

The holiday could be seen as a kind of pay back for the 5.5% solidarity tax that was introduced to aid reunification.

In 2004 the then Chancellor Gerhard Schröder called for Unity Day to be abolished as a means of further stimulating the economy. He suggested that reunification should instead be celebrated on the first Sunday in October. However, this proposal was met with criticism from many sides and the idea was dropped. See related TT chat topic: Germany considers abolishing Unity Day

German Unity Day is the only public holiday in Germany that is stipulated by federal law. All other public holidays are stipulated by the individual states.

It is likely that Google.de will display a modified version of their logo tomorrow. See the related TT chat topic: Google logo updates

I don't agree about the payback for solidarity tax bit. They cancelled the holiday on 17th June to compensate for the new public holiday. But perhaps not a lot of people around here remember that.

They cancelled Buß-und Bettag, which is in November, to pay for October 3rd. In all but the most Protestant of states at least. Don't know anything about June 17th.

June 15 2006 was Fronleichnam, and that was a holiday in Bavaria etc. -- http://feiertage.net/uebersicht.php

Nope. They cancelled Buß- und Bettag in most states much later to finance the Pflegeversicherung (don't know how to translate that !)

Link in German

They cancelled 17th June to compensate for 3rd Oct.

Another link in German

I remember it well and my memory is not that bad.

according to your links they MOVED German Unity Day in 1990 from June 17th to October 3rd -- not cancelling it really.

Buss und Bettag was cancelled in 1995 except in Sachsen.

well, they might have *called* June 17th German Unity Day, but it was a bit of a misnomer, really
it was more cocking a snoop (is that a phrase ) at the DDR, innit

Okay, I'll go with that.
It's not quite right though. The government treated them as separate holidays because although they introduced the 3rd October they forgot to cancel the 17th June until it was almost too late! They rushed the legislation through just in time, otherwise we'd have had them both, for one year at least.
That too is from my memory and I couldn't be bothered to look for a link.

Edit: I (from the western side of the "fence") agree with Topsy that that is what it was like in practice.

"cocking a snoop" duly added to my vocabulary.

Surely it's cocking a snook, isn't it?

cheers, allershausen - i think you are right
i knew when i typed it that it wasn't quite right, but my brain is too addled with numbers today to get my letters 100% right

8/9 November also marks Hitler's first attempt in 1923, the Hitler-Ludendorff-Putsch or Beer Hall Putsch. Just a bad date to celebrate in Germany.
Buß- und Bettag is a hermaphrodite kind of holiday: Protestant countries treat it as a proper holiday, schools in Bavaria are closed, most people have to work.

9 November is THE german day regarding democracy!

We do not need an opposition, we have a democracy!

hallo... does anybody know how to find out if anything is happening in Berlin on Oct 3, Unity Day.. ie parade, fireworks, Merkel tapdancing on top of the Brandenberg Gate?

try having a look at the website to find out: http://www.berlin.de/

People in Kreuzberg puking in buckets, setting cars on fire and throwing stones at the police.

I think you're not in Kansas any more, dave. Germany does not go the whole hog and celebrate its unity the way the US celebrates Independence Day. This is a day for speeches, for politicians to reassure each other and themselves just how great they are, and for thanking Helmut "I gave my word to criminals and can't break it" Kohl, father of German unity, for giving us Ossis, excess solidarity tax and a few hundred-thousand freeloading pensioners.

Light a candle, it can't harm.

And Angela Merkel!

There's the Coca-Cola thing at Brandenburger Tor next week, 2/3rd Oct, not sure if it's specifically to do with the public holiday but something right?

What a fitting event!
3rd October - mass unemployment in eastern Germany but a CocaCola sponsored thing at Brandenburg Tor!

The official party is always hosted by one of the 16 German states (Länder), namely the one whose premier (Ministerpräsident) holds the presidency of the second chamber of parliament (Bundesrat). The presidency rotates annually. This years it's Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's turn (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). So whoever has time to go to Schwerin is welcome.

Bad year to be a MeVo taxpayer, first the G8 bollix and now this shite.

This year the celebrations are in Hamburg