Father's Day auf Deutsch

While Germany has adopted many of the American "holidays" such as Valentine's Day and Halloween, some also celebrate Father's Day on the 3rd Sunday in June as we do in America; however, the "real" Vatertag (Father's Day) in Germany is traditionally celebrated on Ascension Day (Christi Himmelsfahrt), which occurs on the 40th day after Easter.

Because the German Father's Day falls on a religious holiday, in many regions of Germany, it is a true day off from work and school.  Some families celebrate Dad (Vater, Vati, Papa, Papi) much like we do with his favorite meal, cake or a Torte, and maybe an outing to a favorite park or walking trail. In some regions, Father's Day is also known as Men's Day (Herrntag) and includes all men - fathers or not.  Its celebration actually involved the men getting a break away from their families - by having men only grill parties or hikes or bike rides ... and can include a lot of indulgences of alcohol and other vices.  Ironically, this "holiday" also has the statistically highest rate of arrests for violence.

As it pertains to this holiday of Father's Day, I think I prefer the American way of celebrating and taking the 3rd Sunday in June to celebrate our fathers with cards, his favorite meal, and lots of spoiling!

Happy Vater's Day!