- Assumption of Mary - Services in the South, Work in the North
The Catholic feast of the Assumption of Mary once again divides the country: In predominantly Catholic communities in the Free State, it is a public holiday, while in predominantly Protestant regions, it is not. The ratio of Catholic to Protestant population is decisive.
More than 100 Catholic churches alone in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising celebrated their patronal festival in honor of the Mother of God on the Assumption, including the pilgrimage site of Maria Eich in Planegg in Munich district.
Homecoming Day in Kochel am See
In the Upper Bavarian town of Kochel am See, tracht-wearing locals gathered for a homecoming day. In the morning, several hundred marksmen, men, women, and children, accompanied by a brass band in their regional attire, marched to church to attend the church service.
Girls and young women carried traditional herb bouquets. Traditionally, herbs bound with straw are blessed on the Assumption, which believers bring to the church services. The holiday is also known as "High Day of the Virgin" and is considered the most important of the Marian feasts.
No holiday in 352 communities
According to the Bavarian State Office of Statistics, 352 of the 2,056 communities in Bavaria do not have the day off. This mainly affects the predominantly Protestant government districts of Upper and Middle Franconia, where only 46.3 percent and 18.1 percent of the communities are predominantly Catholic, respectively.
In Upper and Lower Bavaria, however, this Thursday is a holiday everywhere. The same applies to the Upper Palatinate (96.0 percent of communities predominantly Catholic), Swabia (95.3 percent), and Lower Franconia (87.0 percent), where most people have the day off.
The picture is also divided among the major cities: While the Assumption is a holiday in Munich, Augsburg, Würzburg, Regensburg, and Ingolstadt, people work and shops remain open in Nuremberg, Fürth, and Erlangen.
The "Assumption of Mary," its official title, has its roots in a Marian feast that developed in present-day Syria at the end of the fourth century. It then spread throughout the East and evolved into a feast of Mary's assumption, according to the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising.
In the historical context, the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising, which encompasses the County of Munich, has numerous Catholic churches celebrating the Assumption of Mary as their patronal festival. Despite the Assumption being a public holiday in predominantly Catholic communities in some regions, it is not recognized as such in 352 communities across Bavaria, many of which are predominantly Protestant, particularly in Upper and Middle Franconia.
