Today is Fathers Day In Germany

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Today is a religious holiday in several European countries. Christians celebrate the Ascension of Christ. This holiday is always celebrated 40 days after Easter. In Germany, it's also Fathers' Day (also known as *Father's* Day). Fathers' Day is not so well known as Mothers' Day. The reason is that there's not one fixed date when it's celebrated. A list on Wikipedia shows that many countries on all continents have a traditional Fathers' Day. The dates vary. In the last decade of the last century also an International Men's Day was introduced in various countries. It's now celebrated in over 70 countries on 19th November. I hadn't heard about this. But then German men don't need it as they've had their Fathers' Day since the end of the 19th century. Although the term contains the word *fathers*, it's celebrated by men in general: Maybe even more by childless singles than by fathers. What do these men do on that day? If you know a bit about Germany, you'll already guess the answer. Usually the weather is good at this time of year. Groups of men meet for a day out. They always have some kind of vehicle with them. Either they walk on foot pulling a handcart or they rent a carriage drawn by horses or a slow-moving open car-like vehicle with benches on it or an old tractor with a trailer. What are all these things for? Well, to transport barrels of beer, of course. The destination is a spot in the countryside where they have a barbecue. Sadly, alcohol induced accidents are three times as high on this day as on average. As Ascension and thusly also Fathers' Day is always on a Thursday, many firms and institutions have made Friday a so-called bridge day. People can enjoy half a week off work. If they have enough money, the go on a short holiday which isn't as beer dominated as a Fathers' Day in the countryside. --- Photo from Wikimedia by Lienhard Schulz.