Father's Day

(Herrentag or Männertag)

Father’s Day in Germany

Father’s Day in Germany in not like Father’s Day here in the US.  It is very different.  On Father’s Day in Germany, which is celebrated on Ascension Day (Himmelfahrt-which is 40 days after Easter, which is the Thursday after the fifth Sunday), Fathers spend the day walking around their towns, communities, etc., in groups.  They walk while pulling a Bollerwagon, which is a wagon full of beer, wine, schnapps and grillers.  Better still, Ascension Day is a holiday so Father’s Day turns out to be a four day weekend.  The connection to Ascension is simple.  This is the day that Christians celebrate the day Jesus ascends into Heaven to sit at the right hand of his Father.   

This practice began many years ago…. in fact, it began in the middle ages.  I am not certain about the wagon and how it came about but have read it was related the villagers loading fathers into a wagon and taking them to the center of town for celebrations.   I also read that the father with the most children would receive a ham.   The ham has been all but eliminated, but the beer has remained constant. 

Clubs were formed.  Initially the clubs were Men’s Walking Clubs, where men would gather on Sundays or holidays and walk and drink together.  The walks became normal parts of their lives.  They became similar to bachelor parties, where they would drink, smoke and party without the women folk. 

World War II took a toll on the drinking parties and most disappeared, but the drinking and the focus on the fathers, shifted to Father’s Day.

Today it has become a day to be creative and have fun.  It is not uncommon for the wagons to be decorated and the men to celebrate throughout their town.  They celebrate in their Bier Gartens, restaurants and Men’s Clubs.  It is a fun day for men, however, some have been known to get out of control.  Some say it is where men can be men, but in fact, it is where men can be little boys again….loud, out of control and a little tipsy.