Unlike France, Good Friday is a public holiday everywhere in Germany!
The day of Christ’s crucifixion
Very important day for Protestants and it is for this reason that in Alsace-Moselle Good Friday is only a public holiday in the municipalities which have a Protestant temple or a mixed church.
The most important day for Catholics is not the day of Christ’s death, but the day of his resurrection… therefore Sunday and Easter Monday.
This is why there is this rule that is sometimes difficult to understand here in Moselle concerning Good Friday.
In France: no meat
The best-known custom in France on this day of Good Friday consists, for Christians, of going without meat.
In Germany: no dancing, no football!
In Germany too, we don’t eat meat on this day… but on the other side of the border, it’s not the only rule.
— It is forbidden to dance (we call it “Tanzverbot”): nightclubs are forbidden to open and in bars, customers must not be allowed to dance!
— It is forbidden to schedule a football match on Good Friday (the Bundesliga, the German championship, completely revamps its calendar on Easter weekend to postpone the Friday match).
And above all, no film on TV
Another Good Friday rule with our neighbors: until Easter Sunday, German channels are not allowed to broadcast films that are too entertaining or too far removed from the “Easter spirit” (such as horror films or police officer).
A list of 700 films is updated every year.
For example, films with Louis de Funès are banned on TV at Easter (the Germans love de Funès) or “Heidi” (a film broadcast as many times on German TV as Sissi in France!).
As a result, you will not see films for 3 days on private or public German channels… on the other hand, entertainment programs, TV films or even American series are authorized.
In Germany, everyone finds this rule a bit “old-fashioned” and “outdated”… but no government has ever wanted to abolish it despite some protests from the population.