Overview

• Christi Himmelfahrt traces back to the fourth century and is held 40 days after Easter to honour the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven.
• As a nationwide public holiday, many Christian communities conduct Gottesdienste outdoors in parish gardens, forests or on hilltops.
• Vatertag has been observed alongside Christi Himmelfahrt since the 19th century and was formalized in the 1930s as Germany’s dedicated Father’s Day.
• Traditional Father’s Day activities feature groups of men touring with Bollerwagen stocked with beer, with regional names such as Männertag in Saxony and Herrentag in Mecklenburg.
• In contrast to Germany’s shared date, countries like the USA, Netherlands and France celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June, while some Southern European nations mark it on March 19.